Mixtape
by xxxkia
Summary: "Harry, it's Hermione. If you listen to this tape then my parents are dead and I'm missing. I'm stuck in the US with a new name and no wand and somehow Malfoy's here, too. He watches me, I think. Maybe he's trying to kill me, I'm not sure, but if you get this tape then something has happened to me. Just listen to the tape, Harry." - Strictly Dramione Spring Fest Exchange 2017
1. A-Side

**MIXTAPE**

* * *

 **Rating:** M

 **Synopsis:  
** "Harry, it's Hermione. If you listen to this tape then my parents are dead and I'm missing. I'm stuck in the US with a new name and no wand and somehow Malfoy's here, too. He watches me, I think. Maybe he's trying to kill me, I'm not sure, but if you get this tape then something has happened to me. Just listen to the tape, Harry."

 **Prompt** :  
#24: AU- traveling to the Americas to hide from Voldemort's control, two unlikely teens are forced to work together to survive.

 **Writer:** xxxkia

 **Author's Note:**

Welcome to my entry for the _Strictly Dramione Spring Fest Exchange 2017_. Despite it being Spring, it turned out rather dark, so please read the **Warnings** before you start reading.

I have to admit that I was inspired to write this after I finished _Thirteen Reasons Why_ but it will be nothing like that story, I only adopted the idea of recording a tape.

The story is technically a two-parter, similar to the two sides of a cassette tape. Make sure to turn the tape around after you finish the first side ;-)

The timeline of the story is set from the summer of '97 until summer of '98. That means that it starts in the summer between 6th and 7th Year and that it ends a few weeks after the final battle. Please note that 6th Year ended in mid July. Hermione wanted to obliviate her parents in mid-July and therefore returned home. After that she planned on going back to the Burrow from where she wanted to help relocate Harry before his birthday. As she never made it to the Burrow from her parent's house, the events following Harry's relocation happen without Hermione. Due to that, Ron never left Harry during the Horcrux hunt. Everything will become more clear in the story.

Thanks to my betas _WinterWillows_ and _naarna_!

 **Disclaimer:** _I own nothing._

 **Warnings:** _Kidnapping, Torture, Self-Harm, Graphic Description of Violence/Self-Harm, Graphic Description of Sexual Situations, Harsh Language, Attempts of Murder, Men Hunt._

 **Words:** _33 154_

* * *

 **Table of Contents:**

1: **A-Side**

2: **Eject and Turn**

3: **B-Side [Recovered and Rewound]**

4: **Off the Record**

5: **Bonus Tracks**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 **A-Side**

* * *

Harry Potter couldn't believe it.

He won the war, he beat Voldemort. Voldemort was dead!

Sitting on the debris in the courtyard, Harry stared into nothingness while those thoughts rushed through his head. Hogwarts had been attacked and they had fought until the end.

And now everything was over.

Harry heard some cheers coming from the Great Hall and he turned his head slightly to look towards it. He looked around himself.

Hogwarts was broken, they were broken but they probably would heal.

Hopefully.

Broken stones and glass littered the courtyard. There was smoke and ash in the air and Harry lifted his head towards the sky. He was finally able to breathe.

"Harry?"

The black-haired wizard turned his head and saw his best friend stumble towards him, face full of dried blood and frowning.

"Hey mate," Harry said as Ron came closer.

"I missed you in there. You were suddenly gone, so I went looking. Don't run out on me like that." Ron scolded and Harry nodded. He had just left because Ron had been with his family and he hadn't wanted to interrupt their moment.

"What you thinking about?" Ron asked further and finally leant against the piece of rock Harry was sitting on. He groaned from the effort.

"What do you think?" Harry mumbled and kicked a stone away. "All this celebrating, it's great. You can't imagine how happy I am that he is gone but I just can't stop thinking about her."

"Hermione's fine," Ron tried to convince him but he didn't really believe it himself. "Wherever she is. I bet she fought her way through it like we did. She killed Nagini after all!"

"But why hasn't she returned yet? She's been missing for almost a year now. The only contact we had was when Voldemort grew weak enough, so I got into his head when Nagini was killed. I heard him talk about how he tried to hide the snake overseas but the 'Mudblood' had found her and killed her. We don't even know if he was talking about _her_ , if the 'Mudblood' that killed Nagini really was Hermione." Harry turned to face Ron, wanting some kind of response, but Ron didn't have one.

Last year, between the summer of Sixth and Seventh Year, Hermione had returned to her home for a few days, so she could _Obliviate_ her parents and keep them safe. She was only supposed to be gone for two days, then she would go to the Burrow from where they would prepare the mission to pick up Harry before his 17th birthday.

But during the first night, the Granger house had been attacked by Death Eaters and when the Aurors appeared, the house was in flames and the only two bodies in there belonged to Hermione's parents.

There was no trace of Hermione and at first they thought that she had made it out, that she was hiding somewhere and meeting them later on.

But she never showed up.

And when they went to pick up Harry, she wasn't there and then they waited at the Burrow but she didn't show up there either. After Bill and Fleur's wedding, Ron and Harry had to flee and they went on the run to search for Horcruxes. Without Hermione.

Months passed and there was not one sign of life. And slowly, everyone lost hope.

They had first thought that the Death Eaters, who attacked her home had taken her with them, but they never received a message. She never was used as bait or to taunt them. Even when Ron and Harry were kidnapped at Malfoy Manor, there was no trace of her. Bellatrix was vicious but Harry thought that if they held her somewhere captive that Bellatrix would have used that moment to gloat about it.

There was a moment in January, when Harry receive a vision of Voldemort grieving about Nagini and being in rage about her death. Harry knew that Voldemort had an unhealthy obsession with the snake and that's when he realised that she had been a Horcrux as well.

And that somebody had killed her.

If it was an accident or if the someone knew that she was a Horcrux stayed a mystery. Ron first thought that it was a trick like the time with Sirius, just to _make_ them believe Nagini was gone and when Harry would fight Voldemort in the end, believing he destroyed all the Horcruxes, Voldemort would tell them that they hadn't. But Harry knew that it was genuine, he had _felt_ it somehow. Nagini was dead and they were one destroyed horcrux closer to their win.

He hadn't been able to see, who did it. But the term _Mudblood_ fell and somehow, Harry had hoped that it was Hermione and that wherever she was, she was still alive and helping him win this war. That's what he believed and that's what kept him going.

He had wished that she had showed up for the battle suddenly, fighting side to side with him but the vision with Nagini had been the last one, if it even was her, and in the end, Harry slowly believed that he might have been wrong about his assumption.

"Any word about Malfoy?" Harry then asked and looked up. Ron shook his head.

"His parents are close to having a stroke. They're asking everyone inside if they have seen their son. Apparently after failing to kill Dumbledore, Voldemort had some sort of special mission for Draco and since then, they haven't seen or heard from him again. They only followed Voldemort to the battle because he told them that Draco would be at Hogwarts. When they realised that he wasn't, oh boy, you should have seen their reactions. I was standing close by when one of the Death Eaters told them that Voldemort had stalled them for this whole year to keep them in his ranks and be able to use their Manor as his lair. He laughed at them for being so gullible and said that Draco has probably been dead for months. Lucius exploded him before he was able to finish the sentence. Exploded him, Harry! I mean it was completely wicked, even I have to admit that. And I didn't even hear him mutter a curse. Just like that, boom!"

"Yes, just like that."

"Anyway, Shacklebolt was talking to them when I left to find you. Because they helped out in the end, their sentences will be lessened and they might be spared from Azkaban. I mean, Narcissa saved Fred's life. But because nobody knows where Draco is and what he might have done, it will be hard to get him out of a sentence as well. If he's still alive that is. They will interview the captured Death Eaters to find out more. They'll also ask about Hermione." Ron rattled on and Harry wondered how long he had been sitting out here already and where Ron had got all this information from.

"But I think that we should all go home first, Mum said-,"

"I really don't care, Ron." Harry hissed back and instantly felt bad about it. He had to push Hermione out of his mind during the battle to keep himself from being distracted but now that he had the freedom to think again, she was instantly back in his thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized and finally got up from his rock. "Let's get back inside, I think I need to see some more familiar faces."

Ron nodded wordlessly and shoulder to shoulder they walked back into the Great Hall to celebrate their win.

* * *

They all returned to the Burrow that night, exhausted, bloodied and bruised. They needed sleep and food and medical attention.

But nobody could sleep and so it came that the whole Weasley family and Harry were sitting around the kitchen table and nobody said a word. They all just were.

Harry was about to force himself to break the silence and tell everyone to go to bed, when there suddenly was a loud bang and then something dropped in his lap while the kitchen started to smell like sulfur.

The sound had made everyone jump up and draw their wands out of habit. For a moment they thought that the war wasn't over but when nothing happened, they all settled down again.

"What's this?" Harry asked, holding up the small parcel, which was wrapped in brown paper. His name was written on the front and he instantly recognized Hermione's handwriting.

There were more symbols written on the paper and Harry handed the parcel over to Mr Weasley and Bill, who leant closer to get a look.

"That parcel was put under a bequest charm. I recognize the symbol from a Dark Arts book," Bill answered as his father paled.

"What's a bequest charm?" Harry asked confused.

"It's a charm that lets someone bequest something to someone else in case something happens to them. It's actually illegal to use it because nowadays a Ministry worker needs to take care of a testament and perform it. You put the bequest charm on an object and when you die or are in grave danger of dying, the charm activates itself and will send the object to the recipient. People sometimes use it to inform others of their death, like they put the charm on their actual testament and put their lawyer as recipients and when they die, the testament goes immediately to the lawyer. This way the remaining family can't forge the testament or destroy it. But the charm itself is complicated. You need to gather ingredients, some of them are illegal, brew a potion and then use the potion to bind the charm to the object with the written symbols you see on here. You say the charm while writing down the symbols with a special quill, using the potion as ink." Bill explained to him and Harry's eyes darkened with each sentence.

"What? Who would make it so complicated? Who would put Harry as their recipient? Who di—," Ron's words got stuck when he leant closer to look at the parcel over Bill's shoulder.

 _Who died?_ Harry knew that those was the question Ron had wanted to asked but like Harry, he had recognized the handwriting immediately. He grew paler and looked up to meet Harry's eyes. Horror was written all over his face.

"What? Who sent it?" Mrs Weasley asked now nervously.

"Hermione," Harry mumbled. "The handwriting is Hermione's."

The room grew silent at that, they all exchanged glances until Ginny spoke up.

"Shouldn't we contact anyone? Bill said that they could be in grave danger, so maybe it's not too late yet. We could get the Aurors to search?"

"Search where?" Ron spat out. "They looked for Hermione already. Even now they are searching Death Eater lairs across the whole of Britain. We searched all over for her. I asked the bloody Malfoys and they didn't even know that she was missing."

"Ron's right, without any lead, there is no point in searching. There are no limits for the bequest charm. It can be used worldwide, so she could be anywhere really," Bill answered with a grave face.

"Maybe we should open it?" Fred suggested then and everyone turned to him.

"Maybe she just sent us the clue!" George added and that's when Harry started to wake from his trance like state.

Harry reached out and Bill gave him back the parcel. It wasn't big, maybe the size of a small wallet. "Can I just open it?" Harry asked and Bill nodded.

He ripped open the paper and ended up with a rectangular plastic box on his hand, which he stared at mutely.

"What is this?" Ron asked in confusion when he stepped closer Harry looked up at him.

"It's a cassette tape," he answered but Ron still didn't seem to get it. He opened the box and took out the black tape with the white label.

 _Play it, Harry!_ was written with a blue pen on the label and Harry stared at Hermione's handwriting again.

"How does it work?" Mrs Weasley asked and Harry looked at her.

"Uhm, you play it. In a cassette player, Mr Weasley, do you have one?"

"I think so! Just a minute." Mr Weasley got up and hastily walked towards his garage; he came back a moment later with a small device, which Harry immediately recognised as the right player.

"Is this the right one?"

"Yes, perfect. Does it work?"

"It runs on batteries."

Harry nodded and greedily took the player to put it on the table in front of them. He put the cassette in, with Side A to listen.

He looked around them one last time, then he breathed out and pressed play.

* * *

 _Harry, it's Hermione. If you are listening to this tape then that means that the bequest charm worked and that you have received my parcel. I'm not sure when and where you will receive it but I hope that it won't happen in a bad situation._

 _Maybe you have found out about the charm before you got the chance to find a cassette player to play this and you already know what it means. The bequest charm will activate when something happens to me and only then, you will receive this tape. I'm sorry that it had to come this far._

 _You probably know that my parents are dead, Harry. And I don't know if you think I am, too or not. I'm not._

 _Yet._

 _At least while I'm still recording this tape. I'm in Chicago at the moment and have been in the United States for a while. I'm sure that you found out by now that I'm not in England anymore._

 _It's October now, so it has been around four months since the ambush. During the attack on my parents, I was hit by a curse which threw me into a wall and knocked me unconscious. The next time I woke up, I was in a Muggle hospital somewhere in the US, North Carolina, I think. When I woke up, it was already mid-August, so I had been out for a while. They told me that I had been involved in a road accident, that I had been run over by a car. I tried to run away but the police were able to catch me because of my weak state and because I have no wand._

 _I had an ID with me but there was a fake name and a fake birthday on it. I have no idea how I got it but the picture on it is me, it's just the data that was forged. At least that's what I thought. That it was fake. But then my so-called parents suddenly showed up and it became clear that I was put in their daughter's place. They were afraid of me but played along for the authorities in the hospital and the police. I think they were blackmailed, somehow. I think the Death Eaters, who brought me to America, caused Heather Green to get in a accident and they put me in her place, so that I received medical treatment in her stead. I don't know why they didn't heal me, maybe the curse hit me harder than they thought and their only option was to bring me to a Muggle hospital._

 _I don't know if Heather is still alive or not but it seems that her parents believe that she is, otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to this whole charade. Heather and I look slightly alike but I think that they put a charm on the ID, so that it was my picture instead of the original one. The Greens, they just moved into this town a few days before the accident. Because of that, nobody would know what the real Heather looked like and I would just take her place._

 _I met the Greens shortly after the police found me and they loathed me. I probably would too because I'm the reason why their daughter was injured and is probably held captive somewhere. I don't know if it was short notice that I was brought to them or if it was planned. It didn't really look like it. But they were smart, they knew what they were doing when they choose the Greens._

 _I had to stay in the hospital for a few days and because of my escape attempt, I was supervised the whole time. My escape caused the police to take an interest, which then brought a social worker into the situation. The Greens were nervous, I noticed that when they met with the social worker and me one afternoon in the hospital. It was something they hadn't planned._

 _But because of the social worker, I was suddenly enrolled in the local high school and the Greens didn't look happy. I think they were ordered to take me home from the hospital and lock me up. But now they had to let me go to school, otherwise the authorities would raise questions._

 _They didn't talk to me much, I think they weren't allowed but they said that we are being watched and that I shouldn't do anything stupid. When I first arrived at their house, I knew that it was charmed somehow. It's basically a prison for the three of us. They don't work and have probably been forced to stay at the house the whole time so that they could watch me. They also told me that if I try to run away then the Followers will force them to go to the police and declare me missing if not dangerous. That's when I understood why they have given me this whole new identity. I first thought it was to be able to admit me to a hospital but if the Muggle police were to declare me missing or wanted, then it would make things so much more difficult for me. If my picture got out, I wouldn't be able to board a plane or cross a border. I could, once I have a wand again but at the moment I would be stupid to try._

 _The people who control the Greens, I call them Followers. I don't think they are full Death Eaters, but I think that there are some Death Eaters here in America and they have started to gather a new group. Maybe they do it for Voldemort or for themselves, I don't know yet. But I know that they have contact with Death Eaters because_ _ **he**_ _is here._

 _Malfoy, he's here too. Draco, not Lucius, well… uhm.. so he suddenly showed up at the high school as well. New student and all that. He didn't say much, he wasn't disguised or anything. He was just there and watched me._

 _So, when I wasn't locked up in Heather's room, I had to go to school. The Greens somehow contacted the Followers and they allowed me to go. I was surprised at that, that they would let me leave the house to spend hours at a busy high school. I already guessed that it would come with some consequences and you have no idea how right I was._

 _I was watched there. And this time, it was obvious. Malfoy was in all of my classes. He must work with the Followers or maybe there are actual Death Eaters here after all. I didn't know what to do, but he followed me around at school the whole time. I think he followed me every time I left the house in the morning until I returned. I tried to ask the Greens, but they refuse to answer me._

 _So, I went to the high school every day and Malfoy was there, and I knew that I needed to flee as soon as possible._

 _I have no idea what Malfoy is doing here in America. But I believe that he's here to kill me._

 _We didn't speak, which was quite odd and I guess despite everything, I wanted to talk to him so badly. He was the only face I knew. But he wouldn't comply. It unsettled me and after he arrived I knew that I needed to leave as soon as possible._

 _I was at the Greens' house for two weeks, then I was able to escape. It was pure luck that they didn't catch me before I was able to leave town._

 _But I escaped. I still had no wand, but I escaped, Harry. I've been on the run since then, and I've done things I'm not proud of but it was necessary. But because I have no_ wand, _and no idea how to get one, I think that they are going to catch up with me soon._

 _Their trick with the fake name worked, by the way. The other day, I saw my picture all over the news. They said that I had a mental illness and that I was a danger to society and that I needed to be caught immediately. Or well, that Heather Green needed to be caught. It made things harder for_ me, _like they had intended that it would. I had to cut my hair and change the colour, had to change my clothes as well._

 _I'm not sure what to do anymore, or if I will ever be able to get home. I have no idea about the Magical Society here in America, where it is and how to reach it. If I knew, then I would try to get there; but what if their Ministry is corrupt as well?_

 _This morning, I bought this tape recorder and this tape, and I'm hoping that I will get a wand tonight to be able to send you this tape with a bequest charm. I read about it just before we left Hogwarts and it's the only thing I can think of right now._

 _But if I manage to work the charm and if you are listening to this now, Harry, then that just means that in the end, I failed anyway. I might have gotten a wand and put the charm on it, but if you receive it that means that something happened to me._

 _That **he** happened to me._ _Malfoy is close, I know it. And maybe I can tell him to give you this, so he can gloat about killing me. It would be horrible but in the_ end _you would still get this tape and be able to learn the truth._

 _Because this is what I'm doing here now, Harry. I want to use this tape to tell you exactly what happened to me up to the point where I'm caught or injured or worse. I want to give you this. And who knows, maybe I'm still alive and will be able to put something in Side B as well. Who knows, right?_

 _So, in the following, I will tell you in detail what happened to me since I woke up here up to the point where I am now. I'm recording this on October 18th in Chicago but the story starts in a small town in North Carolina, where I woke up on August 24th, almost one month after the attack on my parents._

* * *

The hospital smell burned in her eyes and everything hurt when she was finally able to blink them open. She had been conscious a few times before this, but she had been too weak to actually open her eyes.

Now, she was finally able to open them.

Her body hurt and her lungs hurt and she needed water. There was a nurse in attendance and she helped Hermione to drink from a glass of water.

"It's alright, slow down there, Heather. Don't drink too quickly."

She wanted to tell the woman that her name wasn't Heather, but she wasn't able to use her voice. Everything was too hazy and she blinked, afraid that she would fall back asleep again.

"She's awake?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's call her parents then."

Parents, Hermione thought, what parents? Her parents were dead, killed by Death Eaters, she remembered it now.

But it became too much and Hermione fell back asleep; the next time she awoke, an unfamiliar woman was leaning over her face, gushing about how she was so glad that she was still alive.

"You scared us, Heather. Thank God that nothing serious happened to you. What a miracle," the woman said and Hermione was confused. She tried to frown, but everything hurt.

"Mrs Green, I will go get the doctor, he will be able to tell you more," another voice said; Hermione guessed that it was the nurse. A door opened and then it fell shut. The woman above her disappeared.

"How much longer will she be in here?" A third voice asked.

"I don't know, Rick. But you've heard those people, we have to take her home and make sure that nobody questions us."

"But won't they ask her about details on the hit-and-run? The police have already been at our house asking questions."

"They said they took care of it. That we have to follow the instructions if we want to see our daughter ever again. And the instructions said to get her home from the hospital and lock her into Heather's room."

"But I think the whole case will cause them to bring in a social worker and school starts soon. What will we tell her?"

"I don't know, that we home-school her? Or that she's still too weak to attend school? At least social services hasn't contacted us yet."

"What if we contact the police?"

"Shh, Rick. Have you not seen what these people were able to do? They will kill us, they kill Heather if we don't do what they say."

"But why us, Nicole?"

"I don't know, Rick. Be quiet, I think they are coming back."

The world around Hermione started to blur again and she couldn't concentrate on the voices anymore. Her body hurt and it was quite painful, so she drifted back to sleep.

"Hey Mudblood! Wake up. I need you to wake up."

Hermione was shaken up roughly, causing her to groan in pain. She blinked against the bright light of the room and tried to open her eyes but it hurt too much.

"I will put a spell on you, so you will get out of here sooner. We can't lose any more time. You will be a good girl, do you understand me? You will go with the Greens and if you do anything stupid, then those innocent Muggles will be killed because of you. Do you understand me?"

Hermione was just able to nod slightly. Moments later, she felt the tingling of magic in her legs and arms and she knew that the spell would help her gain control of her limbs again. The process hurt and she wanted to force herself to see who was at the bed but she wasn't able too and by then it became too much and she fell back into darkness once more.

It was dark outside the next time she woke up. Her room was dim and this time it was easier for her eyes to adjust. She had started to wake up more with each time and having that spell performed on her had helped immensely.

They told her that she had been in a coma for a month already and that she needed to take things slowly. Because she had only laid in a bed, her muscles had reduced and she would have to rebuild them first. They had said that walking would be difficult in the first few weeks but Hermione knew that because of the spell, she would be able to get out of bed as soon as she felt up for it.

It was her head and eyes mostly, that still needed recovery time.

The people from before hadn't returned yet but she remembered their conversation and it didn't mean anything good.

She nearly screamed when she read her clipboard and found out that she wasn't home in England anymore.

America. Someone brought her to America after the attack on her parents' house. It had hurt worse than anything else. The grief and the pain she had experienced when she remembered what had happened. The nurses believed that it was caused by the aftereffects of the coma and they gave her pain medication, which Hermione welcomed gladly.

The clipboard also told her that she wasn't Hermione Granger anymore. Heather Green was the name on it and on the second day after she woke up, one of the nurses told her that a social worker would come to see her soon. She remembered the conversation again and knew that the real parents of Heather Green had been dragged into this as well.

Hermione leant back against her bed and finally, things started to clear up for the first time. Her head didn't hurt anymore and her eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness of the room.

She needed to flee was her first thought. This was the chance she had and she needed to take it. If the Death Eaters, who killed her parents, had brought her here, then they wouldn't just leave her be. She would probably be watched further or held captive. This hospital stay could be her only opportunity.

Thanks to the spell, she was able to sit up in her hospital bed and pull out the IV from her arm. She had only her hospital gown on but in the closet next to her bed was a set of simple clothes. She tried to be as quiet as possible when she put on the jeans and the black hoodie before carefully opening her door to peek into the hallway.

She needed to be quick and she knew that she had no idea where she was or where to go. She had no wand and no money but she knew that those foster people worked for Voldemort and anything would be better than being held prisoner by them.

Everything worked perfectly until she reached the door at the end of her corridor. She tried to open it but it was locked somehow and she cursed under her breath, turning around to find another exit. But despite the healing charm, it was exhausting for her to walk and and she felt her head begin to ache again.

"Hey you! What the hell do you think you're doing?" It was a man's voice and Hermione panicked. She tried to open the door with clammy palms but then she was grabbed from behind by a security guard.

They brought her back to her room, changed her back into her hospital gown and she had the IV inserted before they were giving her heavy medication, which made her dizzy and sleepy. Maybe tomorrow, she would get another chance.

* * *

There had been no other chance.

The hospital had informed her parents as well as social services and they all showed up the next day. Her stunt had drawn some attention to her, so now she definitely would be assigned to a social worker.

Rick and Nicole Green did not look amused by this news. In fact, they looked scared as hell when the police officer told them that a social worker would come by their house in the next few days and also when Heather was home again.

Something had gone wrong and Hermione almost felt sorry because she had caused it. The Green people looked stressed and they jerked at every little sound. They faked interest in her wellbeing when a nurse or a doctor was around but once they were alone, they refused to touch Hermione or even look at her.

She tried to talk to them but they wouldn't even let her start a sentence.

"Don't you dare talk to us, girl! _You_ are the reason why _those_ people showed up on our doorstep and destroyed our life. You destroyed our life! And I bet you are one of them as well, a freak! We will do anything they ask us to in order to get our Heather back. And if you pull such a stunt again, then god help you!" Nicole Green nearly screeched at her and Hermione had closed her mouth again.

Poor, innocent people, her arse.

"You listen to my wife, do you understand?" Rick Green had added. "We were instructed to get you out of here once you wake up and then lock you up in the house for good but now we have to deal with the police and social services as well."

After that, she had to spend two more days at the hospital before her vitals were good and she was able to walk freely and without problem. Nobody really questioned how she was able to recover so quickly. After that, she was escorted out of the hospital by the unfriendly-looking couple.

They drove her to a small house in a suburban area. She wasn't allowed to ask any questions when she was pushed into the house. They shoved her into the room on the first floor, warned her again to not do anything stupid and then locked the room. It was charmed somehow, the window didn't open nor break and Hermione knew that she was stuck here now.

They brought her food later on but they still didn't talk and were gone before she had a chance to ask. They left a bottle of pain medication with her and she felt relieved, she knew that she would still need them in the first few days.

The next day, Hermione saw a car draw up outside the house. A smartly dressed woman got out and Hermione hoped that it would be the social worker. She was right because a few moments later, the door to her room was opened and her fake dad dragged her out.

"We need you downstairs. Tell that lady that everything is fine and try to somehow tell her that you can't go to school yet." Rick Green was short and nearly bald. He looked quite average, not someone who would stand out amongst a crowd.

Hermione nodded and followed him downstairs, hoping that she could use this situation to her advantage somehow.

The social worker was chatting with Nicole Green, a tall woman with dirty blond hair and high cheekbones. They were drinking coffee and when Hermione entered the room, the two of them looked up.

"Ah, Heather, I'm so glad that you feel better already. I just explained to your parents that I signed you up for the coming school year. King High School is a really good school and all the teachers there are so excited to meet you. I forwarded all your information because I'm afraid that you have to have attendance record. Every teacher needs to sign it but to make things easier, I already sent out all the information."

"That is so kind of you," Nicole bit out and now Hermione understood what was going on. Because of the social worker's eagerness, everyone at school knew about her already and if they kept Hermione from showing up there, then that would draw attention and everything would probably end up at the police.

She almost laughed out loud at that.

"But, I think that Heather doesn't feel well enough to attend school yet. Right, honey?" Rick interfered and pushed against Hermione's shoulder slightly.

Hermione opened her mouth but the social worker interrupted her. "Nonsense. The school is aware of her condition and Heather can see the school nurse whenever she needs to but it would be good for her to get out of the house and be a little active. I expect her on Monday to show up at school to get her attendance record signed. I have to insist."

Nicole Green smiled tightly at that but agreed and once the social worker left, they brought her to her room again. However, this time they didn't bring her any dinner later on.

Hermione had actually felt bad for them in the beginning, she still did somehow and she had wanted to help them get their daughter back, but it was clear that that wouldn't be so easy.

That night, Hermione laid on Heather's bed and thought about what she should do next. It was clear that the Greens would need to contact the people who held their daughter captive to tell them about the request of the social worker. They would have to take care of things or otherwise it could cause some trouble.

If they somehow had to let her go to school it would be another chance for her to flee. They wouldn't be able to follow her around in the school the whole time with all the other students around.

At least, that's what Hermione hoped.

* * *

She would go to school.

The Greens told her so the next day when they brought her food again. To please social services and to avoid any questions, they told her. They must have reported it back to whoever was controlling them because they also told her that she would be watched in school.

On a school day, they would bring her and pick her up, no bus. She never was to leave the school grounds or else she would be punished.

Hermione wasn't sure what to expect but she made sure to prepare herself.

Monday happened fast and before she knew it, she was standing in the parking lot of the school, Nicole Green waiting in her car, so that she could make sure that Hermione would enter the building.

The first day was busy. Hermione went to the office to get her timetable and her stuff, her locker number and combination and what not. It felt so different than Hogwarts, especially because she had known that the new year had started there as well.

Oh, how much she missed it.

While she walked to her first class - AP Calculus, apparently Heater seemed rather smart - she thought about how they would watch her in here. Would they pose as teachers?

She was late, having lost her way and when she finally opened the door and have the teacher the slip, she looked around the class and froze.

She expected much but not _that_.

There, perched in the last row, next to the only other empty table, sat none other than Draco Malfoy.

She didn't hear the comment from the teacher, something about two new students and that he hoped that she would be able to settle in quickly.

All she could do was stand there and stare. She heard snickers from the other students but she ignored it. All she did was stare at Malfoy.

He was dressed in black - of course he was - black trousers, black jumper and he stood out like a lamp in the night. His pale white skin and that white blond hair drew all the attention to him. His grey eyes were calculating and they never left hers.

She wanted to do anything to him. She wanted to scream and slap him while at the same time she wanted to beg him for help. The latter vanished as she walked down the row towards her seat and when she spotted it.

His sleeves were rolled up and there it was, etched on his pale forearm.

The mark of a Death Eater.

She literally felt how the colour drained from her face and her eyes flickered from his arm up to his eyes. She frowned and for a second she thought that she saw regret in his eyes but it was gone and then the teacher told her to take her seat.

She couldn't follow the lesson, even though a tiny bit of her had been excited to learn something during all this mess. She was giddy at biology and science, even more so at English because it meant that they would read Muggle books.

But the fact that Malfoy was here, in this American high school, wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted to glance over but she didn't dare, so she stared straight ahead for the whole period. She had no clue what was going on in class but she just couldn't make herself break her stance.

It was worse than torture.

The next class wasn't any better. Again, Malfoy was there, and he had somehow managed to get another seat close to hers. This time he sat on her right instead of her left and she stared straight forward again.

The next one was pure torture because he was seated behind her and everything in her body screamed at her to not turn her back to him but she had no choice. She had furiously taken notes, keeping her head down and by the end of the lesson, she was sweating from exhaustion.

She walked to her locker in the break and she knew that he was watching her amongst the crowd of students. She didn't spot him, yet she knew he was there.

 _You will be watched._

She had expected something but not this.

"Hey, you are new, right?"

Hermione flinched and nearly smashed her locker door into her fingers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you. I'm Monica by the way." the girl had straight brown hair, wore glasses and smiled in a friendly way at Hermione while she held her hand out.

Hermione was pretty sure that it would be bad to make friends but the girl was so persistent that in the end she smiled and shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Her...Heather."

"Nice to meet you, Heather. If you need anything, let me know. Directions to classes, introductions to the cafeteria or to the library, no matter what, I'm here."

"That's nice of you. Do you help every new student?"

"No, not really. I would like to after I've seen the other newcomer. He's a hottie, right?" Monica giggled and Hermione forced herself to keep from gagging.

"Yes, ha, totally," she lied while at the same time she tried to sound as American as possible. She wondered if someone would comment on her British Accent but nobody seemed to care. It was possible that they had put a charm one her while she was in the coma, one that would make her voice and words sound too random to remember.

"I mean, look at him. He's so different than the guys here," Monica gushed and turned around to look a certain way. Hermione followed her and that's when she spotted him again.

"... hair, and have you seen that tattoo,"

Monica rambled on but Hermione didn't really paid attention.

Had she seen his tattoo, seriously?

"Bloody bastard," Hermione whispered under her breath, her hand balled to fists and she stared at him, their eyes meeting across the hall.

He had the nerve to smirk at her.

He was leaning against his locker, hands in his trousers while he ignored the crowd of students which walked past him. He ignored the curious glances some of the guys threw him, just as he ignored the obvious attention-seeking from the girls. He just watched her across the hall and she saw that he had rolled-up his sleeves and there it was.

The Dark Mark.

It wasn't cool or hot or anything else Monica was telling her. That girl had no idea what is was. Nobody in this bloody school had any idea what it was about.

What it really _meant_.

And how much death it would bring.

The bell rang and Monica told her that she would save her a seat at lunch. Hermione walked to her next class and resigned herself to being near him again.

He didn't speak to her, just watched and it made her uneasy because she constantly expected him to strike, not sit down next to her in Chemistry. But he did and she couldn't help it.

She tried to listen to the teacher, who was explaining an experiment to them at the front; that's when she heard Malfoy snort next her her. The sound startled her too much and she looked over at him surprised and saw how he just shook his head in disbelief.

"Bloody Muggles. Barmy, the whole lot," Malfoy muttered under his breath and Hermione's eyes widened at his words. But then his eyes snapped up to meet hers and she turned away from him.

She was afraid.

She didn't want to admit it at first but now she was pretty clear about it. When Malfoy was here to watch her, then that meant that he had helped to bring her here, that he worked with those people who blackmailed the Greens.

That he took part in killing her parents.

Hermione's pencil snapped in half and she felt his eyes burn in her side but she refused to look up. She stared down at her notes, her vision became blurred as the tears treated to spill over.

"Ms Green, are you alright? Do you need to see a nurse?"

Hermione wanted to say no, she didn't want to move or get up because she knew that meant that she would run the risk to look at Malfoy.

"I can take her."

His voice was smooth and so different than she remembered. As the teacher seemed to agree because the next moment, a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her out of her seat. She stumbled out of the classroom, his hand hurt her arm and she couldn't see anything from all the tears.

The door fell shut behind them and they were alone in the empty hallway.

"Gran-," he started but Hermione didn't let him finish. She whirled around and caught him by surprise. The smacking sound of her hand hitting his cheek echoed in the hallway."Don't you dare say that name, Malfoy! Don't you dare to touch me. You are evil and vile. You are a coward and a murderer and a bloody Death Eater."

He had just time enough to draw up a _Muffliato_ around them before she had been able to scream those words in his face.

"Shut. Up." Malfoy growled, his eyes frozen but Hermione didn't care anymore.

"You want to kill me? Go ahead and do it. Just fucking do it, Malfoy!"

"Will you just shut your stupid mouth, Mudblood!"

"Make me!"

He was furious, she knew him well enough to realise that but she was so full of anger that she just couldn't help it. It was stupid and reckless and she knew that because she felt his wand against her neck in the next moment.

"For Salazar's sake, Granger. Don't make this more complicated!"

Hermione wanted to retort something, but after another poke of his wand into her throat, she relented. Her anger no longer sustaining her, tears started to blur her vision once more, and her throat felt blocked, leaving her unable to speak.

"Let's just get you to the bloody nurse," he said with a growl before grabbing her arm to pull her down the hallway.

"What are you—?"

"I told you to shut your mouth! Don't ask stupid questions. I'm here to watch you, so don't do anything stupid, I will interfere, and you aren't going to like it." He stopped to face her. "And stay away from the other students," he added, emphasised by another icy glare.

Hermione was surprised when she realised that they were indeed standing in front of the infirmary, only to be dragged inside by him so that she could receive more pain medication. She was relieved for half a second when she was allowed to stay, but then Malfoy managed to convince the nurse to let him stay as well.

He wasn't joking when he said that he would watch her. No words, only a constant cold glare.

He didn't talk and she didn't ask any more questions. Him being there was enough.

Feeling better again, she was finally released from the infirmary, just in time for the lunch break. To her surprise, there was no sign of Malfoy on her way back to her locker to put her things away for the break. Yet she didn't doubt one second that he was still around, watching her.

His last words rang in her ears when Hermione entered the cafeteria, where Monica tried to get her attention. She knew that it was better to stay away from other students, and Muggles in general, at least for now, so she did the only thing she could do in that moment—she ignored Monica, and instead sat down at an empty table in the far corner of the cafeteria.

* * *

Every day passed the same way - Mrs Green would drive her to school and as soon as she stepped out of the car, Malfoy was there, never leaving her truly alone for one moment.

They sat next to each other in every class. He followed her everywhere except the bathroom but even there, Hermione had the feeling of being watched. She would pretend to listen to the teachers and then spend her lunch alone. She didn't talk to other students and then would walk out of the school where Mrs Green was waiting with the car again.

Every day of the week happened exactly like that. On Friday afternoon, Hermione would be locked into her room again, which thank Merlin, had its own bathroom, and then on Monday she would be let out to go to school.

Two weeks happened like that and Hermione complied without any incidents.

At some point, she had wondered if Malfoy was really only there at school or if he was following her to the Greens' house as well. Maybe someone else supervised the house. They probably did, anything else would just be plain stupid.

She undressed in front of her window once, she had no clue what she was thinking but just one simple reaction would be better than the endless watching. She did it slow to make a point. She wanted him to know that she knew.

But the next day at school, he didn't react in any way and she knew that she was slowly starting to lose her mind.

He would wear a black jumper every day and have his sleeves up for her to see the Dark Mark on his pale skin and it made her own skin crawl because she knew why he was showing that symbol to her.

Always a bloody black jumper with his bloody sleeves rolled up and his bloody Dark Mark on display as if it was something to be proud of. Evil bastard.

* * *

Hermione stared down at her lunch tray, her plastic fork poked around in the mashed potatoes and she sighed before she threw the fork down in disgust, looking up to take a sweep of the cafeteria and all the other students around them.

It was the third week of school now and things didn't look much different than last week.

Some were loud and obnoxious and like in a bad movie, it was the jocks on their table who acted like complete idiots. On another table, girls were giggling and laughing, their heads together as they probably gossiped about the girls from another table.

She caught sight of the nerds and how they gathered around some handheld game thing. She had no idea what it was.

It all was just so ... senseless.

The hard plastic bench she sat on was uncomfortable and the food was terrible and there was noise everywhere. The school was decorated in blue and yellow, the school colours were literally everywhere, often accompanied by the school mascot. _Go Sharks!_ and all that nonsense.

She hated it and then she hated herself because, after all, didn't she dress in maroon and gold for six years, carrying around the lion proudly on her chest?

It's a different kind of pride, she tried to tell herself but it didn't make the situation any better. She just didn't like it here, end of story.

The bell rang harshly and Hermione got up, taking her tray with her to the next dumpster where she threw in her uneaten lunch before she put the tray on the pile next to it.

She walked to her last class and she was late but she didn't care. She slipped into the classroom, earned a disapproving look from her teacher, whose name she didn't know and then walked way into the back to slip into the seat in the last row, the one by the window.

Like always, she didn't listen to the teacher, simply didn't care about World War II because hell, she had her own war to fight. And somehow she had been prevented from doing it.

The night when her parents were killed still haunted her every day. It kept her awake at night, not wanting to relive the experience of losing her real parents over and over again in nightmares; the fact that she was held captive like a prisoner did nothing to improve the situation.

It had happened during the night, of course it happened during the night. She had heard the screams and woken up to find them in her home, her parents' house and there was nothing she could have done. There were five Death Eaters, she believed, she wasn't sure but she tried to fight them and it was all too much and then the house was set on fire and there was this hex, which threw her into a wall and she had passed out and then there was nothing.

The memory of her parents' death only added to her already existing anxiety. She didn't believe that she was brought here to play happy families with the Greens who looked like they were close to losing their minds as well. She was here because something was going to happen soon; waiting for it, however, was hell.

To relieve her frustration, Hermione wanted to let out a groan, or bang her head on the table, but she kept from herself from doing it. Instead, she turned to the side to look at Malfoy again. She didn't really care that she did it in a pretty obvious way. After all, he always let her know that he was watching her, so she could let him know that she was watching him too.

Frankly, he wasn't impressed. He just sat at the table next to hers and he didn't even bat an eyelash at her.

Her glance drifted over his black jumper, his rolled up sleeve and she wanted to hiss at the mark on his arm but then something stopped her.

There across his forearm, right above the mark, was a cut. It was red and angry, blood crusted along the wound, but it was clearly done to cut the mark in half.

She looked up at his face but he stared into space, not even at her and that was when she realised that his impeccable appearance wasn't so impeccable anymore, now that she paid attention.

The collar of his jumper was wrinkled as if he had pulled it away from his neck a few times already. She spotted that the skin in the hollow of his neck, where it meet with his shoulders, was an angry red, similar to the red of his skin around the cut on his arm. He moved his head suddenly to stare back at her and the jumper shifted and Hermione spotted the holes by his collarbone. It was a bitemark, similar to those cliché bites from a vampire. Two dark holes next to each other, the skin around them red and inflamed.

Fang bites, she mused. But then she narrowed her eyes.

No, not fang bites.

Snake bites.

He turned his head from her and he broke his posture by reaching up and tugging at his collar, so that the marks were hidden beneath it again.

It was the first time that she watched him the entire time while he didn't look at her.

She wanted to say something, anything, but when the bell rang he shot up from his seat and practically fled the classroom before Hermione was even able to open her mouth.

* * *

She knew that the Greens were at the end of their tether. They were shaky and jumpy, their eyes were red and Hermione was sure that they didn't get a second of sleep during the night.

Unfortunately, their angst meant consequences for her. Her dinner grew sparser every day and because the food at the school was grotty, she didn't get food to gather strength and she knew that a weak body would mean a weak mind and she needed her mind. It had to compensate the fact that she was wandless.

It happened on the 1st of October. It was a regular Thursday and when Nicole Green dropped her off at school, she seemed fine.

But as soon as she entered the building, Hermione knew that something was wrong.

She couldn't put her finger on it and Malfoy was there in all her classes and he was watching her again but something was different.

In her last period, when the bell rang, she was drawn back once more because something about today just felt _off_. The students around her gathered their things and tried to get out as fast as possible. She looked over at Malfoy and watched him get up with one smooth movement, which did not only draw Hermione's attention but that of several other girls.

But he ignored the others like always.

Because he was only watching her.

Hermione shook her head at that, reached down to grab her backpack when a shadow suddenly fell over her. She tried to look up from where she was bent down but it turned out to be difficult. Closing her hand around the strap of her bag, Hermione straightened and came face to face with a black jumper.

She slowly raised her head, coming face to face with Malfoy.

"Granger," he drawled under his breath and she felt it on her face. He was standing way too close and the proximity made her slightly dizzy. She swayed, just a little but enough so that her hand accidentally grazed his jumper.

For a small, absolutely insane moment, Hermione thought about how nice the fabric felt but then she shook her head and looked up to meet grey eyes, cold and calculating.

"What?" she dragged the word out, hoping to sound annoyed and make it clear that in the end, she still wasn't afraid of him.

He just smirked down at her.

She was standing close to him, closer than she should and she still felt his breath on her cheek. He just looked down at her and she stared up and they spend a moment in absolute silence, just staring at each other challenging.

"It's time," he finally wrung out and it looked as if he was struggling with something.

She's never been that close to him in her life before. Even the time she hit him in third year, there had been a certain gap between them. But now, she nearly pressed her breasts flat against his chest and as her hand started to fidget around, her fingers scraped the fabric of his trousers accidentally.

She scolded herself for drifting off, then she narrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion.

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to run."

She stared up at him again, completely frozen this time and that's when she caught the movement in his right hand out of the corner of her eye. It was just a small move, nothing special but it drew her attention to the fact that she saw the outline of his wand in the sleeve of his jumper. She also noticed that the sleeves were down for the first time as well.

So many first times between them in less than a few minutes.

Cursing herself for that kind of thought, her eyes widened and she stumbled back from him, bumping against her table. She looked around and saw that the classroom was empty except for them.

"W-what?" she stuttered out again and there was a twitch in Malfoy's eyes as if he wanted to say something but he didn't.

"You have to run! Right now! Out of this school, away from the car!" He hissed, then he groaned and his right hand snapped to his left arm to grab it tightly.

"NOW, GRANGER!"

Hermione scrambled away, dropped her backpack, which only held her books anyway and then she fled from the classroom, leaving Malfoy behind. She stood in the empty hallway, looking left and right and feeling disoriented before she headed for the exit.

She pushed the double glass-door open, the sun greeted her and she had to blink first. One sweep of the parking lot told her that it was empty, no car was waiting for her.

"There you are!"

Hermione flinched back at the voice and turned around to find Nicole Green standing close to her, her posture unnaturally crooked. The woman smiled at viciously and Hermione stumbled backwards.

"What do you want? Who are you?" She slowly walked backwards and now she was able to spot the car parked by the street, driver door open and the engine running. Her glance flickered back to Mrs Green, who walked slowly towards her while Hermione kept walking backwards, slowly in the direction of the running car.

"Ah, Mudblood, don't you smell delicious?" The woman, who definitely wasn't Nicole Green anymore, hissed and Hermione saw the snake like movements as the woman followed her, treating her like prey.

Hermione's eyes flickered back to the school and she caught a flash of black by the door and then Malfoy stumbled out, looking dreadful even from afar. One hand pulled at the collar of his jumper and when he spotted Hermione and the woman, he pulled his wand and pointed it at them.

Hermione's eyes widened because she had no chance to flee like this but then the woman laughed and when Malfoy stumbled closer, she saw that his wand wasn't directed on her but on the other person. If it even was a person.

"Draco~~~~," the woman hissed, dragging out the name.

"You poisoned me," Draco spat, his wand trained on the blond woman. "Nagini," he added and Hermione gasped. The woman's head snapped around and the blue eyes of Nicole Green were gone, instead the slit yellow eyes of a snake looked back at her.

" _Crucio!"_

Malfoy's hex made Hermione flinch but it was the snake he aimed for but missed and Hermione watched with horror how Nicole's mouth opened wide and the snout of a snake appeared from the back of her throat. Suppressing the urge to gag, Hermione finally woke up and she stared at Malfoy quickly, who prepared to fire another hex at the snake.

"The Mudblood's mine, how dare you jeopardise my task!"

Malfoy's words rang in Hermione's ears but she had reached the car, slammed her foot down at the same time as she smashed the door shut and the car sped away from the school, leaving Malfoy and Nagini behind.

She had no idea if she was followed or not but she guessed that it wouldn't be this easy. She continued to drive down the road. She had no idea where it led to but turning around wasn't an option anymore. Her foot was on the gas pedal and she just hoped that she wouldn't crash into anything. The high school was at the edge of the town and the road Hermione was currently on was rather empty, leading towards what looked like an industrial area, backed by a small patch of trees. There was a river in front of the small forest, Hermione had seen that one from the school grounds already and there was a bridge ahead of her. Hermione sped towards it but then she decided that she needed to slow down a little to cross the rather narrow-looking bridge.

She stepped on the brake, which she had ignored until now, but when she pressed down, nothing happened. She tried it a few times but the car didn't slow down and Hermione realised that it had been tampered with.

Cursing, she weighed out her options - either she hurtled across that bridge somehow or she would miss it and end up speeding down the riverbank straight into the river. Jumping out would be another one but then her decision was made when a car appeared on the other side of the river and was about to cross the bridge, which was too small for two cars and Hermione couldn't risk another life and so she wrenched the steering wheel around and the car drove off the street, onto grass and down the riverbank.

Hermione heard the sound of brakes, probably from the other car and she had no idea what to do when she automatically reached for the door, opened it and let herself fall out of the car right before it crashed into the river.

She was hurled through the air, a soundless scream on her lips and then her body hit the ice-cold water of the river with a painful splash.

She swallowed water and the current immediately carried her away, just in time before the car crashed into the river as well. It caused the water to go more wild and she tumbled around, her lungs burning and then she hit her head on something and would the water carry the car after her as well? Would she be crushed by it at some point?

She had no sense of what was happening, just the pain everywhere and she knew it would be over soon with the coldness of the water, and the fact that she wasn't able to reach the surface. She choked, water entering her mouth and she wanted to cry and scream and then the river flattened out and Hermione was able to reach the ground and the next moment she broke the surface and gasped for air.

The river became shallow and broad and she was able to stand easily now. She turned around and saw that she had been carried away a good distance from the bridge. She saw the other car still standing there and two figures, which made Hermione duck down into the water again.

Her head hurt, she had a laceration on her forehead, she knew that because she reached up and her fingers came back wet and bloody. The water was cold and she was freezing but she forced herself to stay down and to follow the river further. She spotted some bushes near its edge a few meters away and she wanted to get out behind them. Otherwise she might be spotted when she crawled out in the open.

When she reached the bushes she looked back and saw the two figures still standing by the bridge. She had no idea if they had seen her jump out of the car or not but she didn't think about it further and then used the branches of the bushes to pull herself out of the water.

She checked her surroundings and saw that if she climbed up the steep riverbank, she would only be a short run away from the forest. It was really only a small grove, she already could see the building of a company on the other side of the trees. Ducking behind the bushes, she looked back towards the bridge once more and then she heard the sirens of a police car in the distance.

She had to get away before the police arrived and so she forced herself to get ready and then she sprinted up the hill with a pant and across a dirt road, which ran along the forest's edge and then she disappeared into the trees.

She didn't wait, didn't look back but jumped through the undergrowth of the trees. Logs and branches were in her way but she told herself to continue because the police were the least of her worries. Malfoy and the bloody snake were a whole different story and they would be faster than her. She reached the edge and found herself in the parking lot of some grey and dark looking building. She had been right with the industrial area because chimneys towered against the sky and around her was the sound of loud machines and cars. She ducked away again and spotted a row of parked lorries. They were rather small and had tarpaulins in the back, which were only held together by two buckles.

Hermione wondered if she should hide in one but then she jerked back, when she heard two voices. She leant carefully forwards and saw that a man was standing next to the driver's side of the lorry behind which she was standing. She wasn't able to see the other man.

"Hey, Josh, dude, you heading out again?"

"Yeah, some intern screwed up and 200 units are missing in an order. The boss needed someone to drive them over immediately and I volunteered. It's just a two-hour drive, so I said that I'll do it if I can get off earlier tomorrow."

"Your choice, man. But take the outer road, something's blocking the bridge into town."

"Will do, thanks. See ya tomorrow!"

Hermione didn't listen to the rest, she immediately reached for the lowest buckle on the tarpaulin and opened it. She heard the car door slam shut and the lorry start and she heaved herself into the back of it just when it started to drive. She was able to buckle the two tarpaulin sides together again but they didn't completely close, so the two sides were open beneath the buckles and as the car picked up on speed, Hermione felt a draft of cold air.

She was still wet and drenched from the river and she knew that it would be her death if she would sit two hours in the direct draft of wind. She turned around and spotted a few boxes behind her. The back wasn't really crowded but it wasn't really big either, yet she managed to squeeze herself between two boxes and found an empty space behind them. She cowered down behind a box and was glad when she wasn't able to feel any draft there. There was even some sort of fabric draped over the boxes and she pulled it off of them. She knew that she had to get out of her wet clothes and so she stripped carefully, even though it wasn't so easy as the lorry drove over potholes.

When she managed to get her jeans and jumper off, she wrapped the rather ratty fabric around herself. It smelled horrible but she was so cold that she really hadn't another option.

She arranged her clothes on the boxes, hoping that they would dry a little but she doubted it. In the end, she sighed and sat back, pulling the fabric closer around herself while she leant her head against the box.

Now, she needed to hope that she had really managed to escape.

* * *

She had jumped off the lorry while the driver had taken a bathroom break. She checked first where they had parked and when it turned out to be a petrol station near a town's edge, next to the highway, she decided to give it a go. She had no idea how long they were driving but the sun had set and she was sure that they would reach their destination soon. As the man had to deliver the boxes in the back, Hermione didn't want to risk to stay in there any longer. Having him find her hiding in there would probably have ended badly.

So, she had put on her damp clothes again, and when he disappeared around the corner of the small store at the station, she had opened the tarpaulin again and jumped out. It was pure luck that nobody saw her do it. She quickly walked away from the lorry and headed towards the street, which led into what looked like a big city.

It was already dark outside and only the streetlights gave her some light. She was in another industrial area again, which was probably better than in some suburb, where she would definitely draw some attention.

Her head was still hurting and her lungs burned and her body ached but she kept on walking until she couldn't anymore. She looked around and found herself in front of some building, which looked like it was abandoned. There was a broken barrier and Hermione looked left and right before she quickly slipped past it She had taken the fabric from the lorry with her to have at least some sort of blanket to sleep under. She wandered the empty parking lot and looked at the building with its broken windows and graffitied walls.

She tried to find an entrance, ignoring the _No Trespassing_ sign at the doors. They were all locked but then she came upon a building in the back, which had no doors. She walked inside and critically looked around before she sighed in defeat. The floor was dusty and dirty and she knew that she really didn't want to sleep on there. She then found a back room, and nearly squealed when she spotted an old first-aid cabinet hanging on the wall. Praying, she opened it and found an old and nearly empty bottle of rubbing alcohol and some rather yellow-looking gauze.

"Can't get worse," she mumbled before she put the fabric down and screwed the bottle open to put some of the alcohol on the gauze. She dabbed it around on her forehead, hoping that she were able to clean it.

She hissed in pain at the sting and let out a row of curses.

* * *

In the end, she didn't stay there.

She took the bottle and the rest of the gauze and then continued to walk further into the city. She was in Durham, North Carolina, she found that out after walking by a advertisement of a local supermarket.

She was still cold, her body hurt and she had no money or any idea where the hell she should go next. She thought about what to do and the only thought that came her was that she needed to get money from somewhere. With money, she could get food and clothes and a bus or train ticket to somewhere else.

Her legs started to hurt but she forced herself to continue and after a while she came upon a busier part of town. There were a few stores around, a drug store, which was open 24/7 and some pizza place, which didn't look exactly welcoming. She passed them quickly and then continued down the street until she reached a rather busy intersection. She kept her head down and tried to stay in the shadow of the buildings when she spotted the drunk group of people coming in her direction. It was a group of girls and they were giggling and stumbling along with difficulties. Hermione spotted the handbag one of them was carrying in one hand rather than having the strap of the small bag around her shoulder. She was walking outside, another girl on her arm while she laughed at something loudly.

Hermione bit her lower lip, guilt pooling in her stomach but there was no other way, she told herself.

She started to walk fast and when she drew level with the group Hermione bumped into the girl on the right, who yelped drunkenly and let go of her handbag when Hermione grabbed it and gave it a tug.

"Sorry," she mumbled as the girl staggered and with her all the others. They were too surprised and occupied with trying to catch their balance to pay attention to Hermione, who shoved the handbag into the thick fabric in her arms and pressed it against her chest.

She heard the girls laughing behind her and it was clear how drunk they really were when the other girl didn't even notice that her handbag was gone from her hand.

Hermione sped up, crossed the street and kept walking. She looked back every now and then but nobody was following her. She huffed out air in relief.

She didn't dare to take the handbag out of the bundle of smelly fabric for another while to see what was inside but she slowly felt hungry and her clothes were still wet and cold. When she passed a still open second-hand shop, she stopped and finally pulled the small bag out.

There was a purse inside, a bunch of keys, a lipstick, two condoms and a roll of peppermints. She opened the purse and found that the girl had nearly 300 dollars inside, plus a credit card and her ID. Looking up at the second-hand store, Hermione didn't think much and entered the empty store, the clerk at the cash register didn't even look up.

Hermione quickly went through it and besides a new pair of jeans, a jumper, and a dark hoodie, she also got a backpack and a woolly blanket. After paying, she quickly changed in one of the improvised dressing rooms, stuffing the rubbing alcohol, the gauze and her damp clothes into the backpack.

Outside the store, she dumped the fabric and then continued down the street until she reached another drug store. Thinking about the credit card in the purse, she quickly got inside and bought as much as she could think of. She got water and some snacks, new bandages and rubbing alcohol. She got a pocket mirror, wet wipes and more hygiene products. She bought a map of North Carolina and also of the east coast of America and then she added three bottles of pain medication as well.

The cashier gave her a funny look, especially with her slash on the forehead but Hermione just smiled at him sweetly and said "Rough night!" and then paid with her stolen credit card.

* * *

From Durham, she managed to get to Charlotte by train. She had gotten food and directions to the train station and from there, she had taken the first train in the morning to Charlotte.

Once she was there, she stole some more money, again from a drunk teenager and again, she felt really bad about it. She stayed the night at the cheap Motel and showered and used the bed to get a few hours of sleep before she traveled to the next city.

She had no idea what to do but the day after that, she was sitting in a diner having breakfast, when she spotted her face on the local news. Her car accident was talked about and the story was that Heather Green stole her parents' car and crashed it off the bridge, and then fled. It wasn't so bad, Hermione first thought, until they came to the part where Heather's parents, Rick and Nicole Green, were found murdered inside their house, and apparently the dead bodies had been mutilated and were covered in bite marks, with their intestines gone.

Heather was declared dangerous and mentally unstable and any sightings should be reported immediately. It was the wrong name but it was clearly a picture of Hermione and she wondered if she was still registered in the UK and if she could pretend like this was just a really, really odd coincidence. At least, they said that Heather was American and with her British accent, Hermione hoped that she would sidetrack people. But she knew that it wouldn't be enough and therefore made another trip to the drug store and bought hair dye, fake glasses and some scissors.

She cut off her hair with despair. Now, it ended just below her ears, the back was shorter and the curls still stayed, so it looked a little puffed up at first. After that, she dyed it black and tried to get the curls out a little to make it more wavy than curly. She put on the glasses and threw away her old clothes because those were the ones Heather was last seen in.

After that, she bought a bus ticket to Atlanta and from there she continued to Louisville.

* * *

She never stayed longer than two days at the same city and always made sure to be on the move. She tried to find a magical community somewhere but she didn't know what to look for and so it turned out to be an impossible task.

She had read about Magical America of course, the history of the MACUSA, which was located in New York, but she didn't know how the regular wizard or witch lived in America. She thought about heading to New York but that would be the obvious answer and she would probably be awaited there.

She tried to spot odd people, which didn't fit in and she asked for potion ingredients every now and then but people just sent her off to supermarkets or other regular stores.

When she arrived in Chicago, she had the feeling of being followed again. Not that she hadn't had the feeling before but this time it was different. It felt closer, having to look constantly over her shoulder different.

She got a room at an ordinary motel and then roamed the city for more supplies and the chance to get some more cash. She got rather good at stealing, much to her dismay.

She walked by a yardsale and something caught her eye and she bought it for ten dollars.

Contacting Harry and Ron was constantly on her mind. Asking for help, getting back to England, it was her priority besides surviving and she often thought about how to do it. She had no owl and virtually no chance of finding one. Of course, she could send a regular letter but she had no address to send it to. Harry was gone from his aunt's place, the Weasleys had no real address and Grimmauld Place couldn't be found. She doubted Hogwarts had a Muggle postbox.

There was a spell on her mind, which she had studied last year. She had found it in the Restricted Section of Hogwarts Library and it had been on her mind for a while now. The bequest charm was illegal and complicated but it wasn't impossible.

With a little research in a public library, she would be able to collect the right ingredients for the potion. The main problem was the missing wand for the spell and the special quill, which needed to be a feather from a thunderbird.

If she only had a wand.

Hermione continued to think about what she could do to get a wand, when she spotted them. Dressed in black, they stood at the street corner and talked quietly but intensely. Walking past them was insane and yet, Hermione ducked her head and made sure to hold up the muggle device she just bought. As she came closer, she caught their American accents and deflated a little.

"So, what about the Mudblood now? Still no trace?"

"They are close. Rowle said that she's in this city and that they will get her in the next days probably. The Malfoy kid tasted blood and is hellbent on finding her. He probably better should after the punishment he received when she was able to flee."

"Still the snake?"

"Oh hell yeah. That fucking beast did some work on him."

"What should we do until then?"

"Wait for instructions. We will get an update tonight. At the docks."

Hermione hurried away and then slipped into a busy burger place. She went to get something to eat before she seated herself in a dark corner of the place and waited.

Malfoy was here in Chicago.

She had been right about her feeling. He was here and he had followed her. And he almost found her. She would have to leave the city right now, but then again, what good would it do? They would just follow her again.

And now, she at least had an advantage. They would meet tonight at the docks for an update on something. Maybe it was on her or maybe it was on something else as well. If she left then she wouldn't know and how high were the chances that she would manage to eavesdrop on another conversation like that?

Maybe she would be able to follow one of them and take their wand.

What else did she have to lose? If she left, then she had nothing. If she stayed, then she had at least a small chance.

Determined, Hermione got up and left the restaurant. She walked back to her motel, locked the door and closed the blinds on the windows before she put her purchase from this morning on the bed.

It was a tape recorder.

After she had bought it, she went to the drug store to get batteries and an empty tape. She had been on her way back when she had spotted the two men.

She wanted to record the tape for Harry, tell him about what had happened to her until today, October 18th. She figured that the tape would be harder to figure out than a simple letter, in case the Death Eaters intercepted it. She thought about sending it via post again but then decided that the bequest charm would do.

If she was able to get a wand tonight, she would put the charm on the tape in the next day or so. Having a wand should gain her another advantage. She would take the tape with her tonight, in case she didn't get a wand. She pinned her hopes on Malfoy's ego, that if she was caught, then maybe she could convince him to give it to Harry. He probably would do it to make a sick point in being the one who delivered Hermione Granger's last words to the famous Harry Potter.

Malfoy would do it, she was pretty sure of it.

But her top priority as to try and get a wand and put the charm on the cassette tape. Maybe she had gained a few more days before they caught up with her. Who knows?

She sighed and sat down on the shabby motel bed, put the batteries in the recorder and put the empty tape in. She sighed again, took a deep breath and then pressed _record_.

"Harry, it's Hermione..."

* * *

 _And this is it, Harry. The whole story. And I'm currently sitting on this motel bed in this room, and tonight I will go down to the docks and do my best to get a wand._

 _So many things could happen there. I could die, be captured, flee with or without a wand. Maybe I'll get a wand and then they will still catch me a moment later. Or maybe I get the wand and flee for two more days and then they catch me. Or for a week, a month, I don't know._

 _So many things could happen but there are only three ways for you to obtain this tape. Either it's given to you by a Death Eater after my death, or I was able to cast the bequest charm before something happened to me, or it was given to you by me. Or maybe you'll never receive this and it's all been for nothing._

 _At the moment, the first one seems to be the most realistic, doesn't it?_

 _I know, what a stupid idea to go to the docks but I have no choice, Harry. I hoped I would, but I don't._

 _No matter when or if you ever receive this tape - I love you, Harry. And you, too, Ron! I love you both so dearly, I can't even put it in words._

 _If the war is over and you won, then congratulations, Harry, I knew you were able to beat him! If the war is still going, then keep on fighting, Harry. I know that you will win in the end._

 _Always fight, Harry, no matter what._

 _This side is almost full, so you will probably have to listen to Side B to find out what happens next._

 _If it's empty, I was caught tonight. If it's not, then I wasn't._

 _Only one way to find out._


	2. Eject and Turn

**Chapter 2:**

 **Eject and Turn**

* * *

Harry Potter stared at the cassette player in front of him. The tape was finished, but the cassette still running until the cassette tape reached its end; when it stopped, the play button snapped back up with an explosive sound.

At least, that's what it sounded like in the dead-silent room at the Burrow.

"What just happened?" Ginny asked aghast. The fact that Hermione's voice had come out of the Muggle contraption had shaken them all; they had listened to her recountings while holding their breaths.

Molly was pale as a ghost, grasping Arthur's hand tightly. The Weasley patriarch didn't look so well either. After all, they had just fought in the Battle of Hogwarts hours before.

They all were exhausted, their bodies hurt, their eyes burnt and yet, the parcel from Hermione had shaken them up once more and nobody could even think about getting some sleep. Not now.

Even though they all couldn't really hold themselves up any longer.

"Is she-?" George asked, leaning slightly forwards. He and Fred were slumped together, supporting each other to hold themselves up straight.

"I don't know," Harry rasped out, his voice broken and quiet.

"She recorded that last October," Ron stated then, looking determined. "We have May now, so she must have survived it, or does the parcel travel this long?" He looked over to Bill.

The oldest of the Weasley children shook his head. "No, the parcel is delivered immediately after one passes away. Which means that whatever happened to her, it must have happened in the past hours."

"She wasn't at the Battle, right?" Molly asked, panicking.

Harry shook his head. "No, she would have let us know."

"What if," Fred perked up, "what if she went to the docks and got caught and they held her captive until tonight. And after they found out that Voldemort fell, maybe they wanted to get rid of her then. Out of revenge for losing."

"But if they had her, wouldn't we have known?" Ron asked. "Voldemort would have used her as leverage against Harry. Dangle her in front of our eyes because, of course, we would have come."

"That's true," Arthur agreed. "And don't forget that, by the end of the recording, there was no bequest charm on the parcel yet, so she must have gotten a wand somewhere and cast it later on. Considering that the recorded ended in mid-October and we have May now, that's seven months in between. Who knows what happened to them."

"Yes," Bill added. "And if I recall correctly, then the portion of the bequest charm takes a few days to brew. You need to start brewing on the second day of the fourth lunar phase and needs to be completed before the phase is up, just right before the New Moon. That means that she had some time at her hands after the meeting at the docks and that she got a wand and access to potion ingredients."

"What if she ran for all these months? Malfoy's missing, too, maybe he hunted her for seven months and earlier, he was able to… he… uhm… he finally got her." Ginny choked, and Harry reached out to grasp her hand to squeeze it tightly.

"We don't know that," he told her reassuringly. "We should see if there is something on Side B. She said that if she survives, then she will record something on that side as well. Bill said that the parcel will be sent if someone is close to death, so let's just… let's… we can't lose hope that she will still alive. Barely maybe, but still alive."

Ron nodded. "Yes, Harry's right. Let's see what's on Side B first."

The black-haired wizard smiled tightly at his best friend before he reached out and pressed the button which opened the cassette compartment of the player. He pulled out the cassette and turned it around before snapping the compartment shut again.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to keep his eyes down instead of looking around the room. He couldn't cope with seeing all the anxious faces of the Weasleys.

He had just won a war and yet, he felt dreadful. Hermione's tape somehow made him feel like he had still lost.

If only he had looked for her more.

"You know that that's not what she would have wanted, Harry," Ron whispered to him, having been able to read his mind by watching Harry's painful expression. "She wanted us to look for the Horcruxes, not for her. You know that."

Harry nodded, a lump in his throat. He blinked away some stray tears, then he reached out with a shaking hand and pressed the button labelled _Play_.

* * *

 _Harry, welcome to the B-Side._

 _I know that the first side must have shaken you and I dearly hope that you receive this in a more or less quiet moment. I hope that the War will be over by then and that you are well._

 _That everyone is well._

 _You probably guessed that it wasn't over after the A-Side, considering that I had no wand and wouldn't have been able to cast the bequest charm yet. But you did receive this tape via the bequest charm, so I must have gotten a wand and brewed the potion somehow._

 _A few things happened since the night at the docks - strange things, Harry. We have January now and the potion is ready. It's simmering next to me and once I'm done with telling you what happened, I will wrap this tape and put the bequest charm on it._

 _I'm still being followed, Harry, that much hasn't changed. At least the Muggle police are off my back as the Heather Green picture isn't in the news anymore, but I guess they still have it at police stations and at the airports._

 _But that's a side issue. I need to do something here because I found some things out. And if they are true then that's bad - really, really bad. I know that I have to stop them first before I can return home. If I don't, then everything we ever fought for was for nothing._

 _Nagini is here, too, Harry. And she's one of the Horcruxes. I think Voldemort send her here to keep her safe and away from you. I'm close to catching her and I will kill her, Harry and I hope that you will notice it somehow._

 _There is another thing I need to tell you and I'm really afraid… chrhr_

 _chrr...because…_ chrr _Malfoy…._ chr

 _chrr…. kill me…_ chrc

 _….Draco…._

 _..._

* * *

"What happened?" Ron stared at the cassette player and then at Harry, who quickly had pushed stop and was about to eject the cassette compartment.

"The tape got stuck," he answered and then let out a stream of cursed when the compartment snapped open, showing that the actual tape had been pulled out of the cassette and wrapped around the threads of the cassette player.

The shiny, dark brown tape had been pulled out almost completely; the whole thing was an entangled mess. Harry remembered that whenever something like this happened to Dudley's tape, nobody had the patience to fix it. Instead, Uncle Vernon had tossed the tape and then just bought a new one.

"Blimey, can we fix it?" George asked, drawing his wand but Harry put his hand up.

"Whatever Hermione recorded is on this tape, and we can't rip or crinkle it as this would destroy the recording. I don't know what magic would do it. We either have to rewind it by hand but it looks like it's completely stuck in the player."

Harry hadn't dared to take the cassette out of the open compartment yet; the mess of tape still stuck somewhere in the player was enough to keep him from trying. But now he carefully tried to pull the cassette out but it was immediately stuck, the tape stretched tightly and Harry pushed the cassette back in. He tried to carefully pull the tape but it was stuck and already was twisted and knotted and Harry was too afraid to destroy it.

"What's that horrible smell?" Ginny suddenly asked Harry looked up to her. Then he smelled it too and his fingers, which still tugged gently at the tape, got hot.

"Oh no, it must be the magical batteries," Arthur shouted and leapt forwards as Harry pulled his burned fingers back.

Arthur tried to turn the portable player around to eject the batteries but the device grew hotter and the smell of burned plastic filled the room.

"It's melting," Ron screeched at his father who tried frantically to get the batteries out without getting burned himself.

"Watch out!" Harry warned him just in time and with a crack, there was a small cloud of smoke rising from the player and the smell of burned plastic grew stronger, so that Molly had to wave her wand to open all the windows simultaneously.

Everyone stared at the melted pile of black plastic in the middle of the table, it was still smoking and had burned the wood beneath it.

"Dad, what the bloody hell?" Ginny exclaimed, ignoring the scolding look of her mother.

Ron looked as if he was about to faint and Harry didn't look much better.

"I'm sorry," Arthur gasped. "It's been years since I used that one and the last time, I was experimenting with the batteries. I forgot that they were still in there instead of the regular ones. I just grabbed it earlier and came back. Only when it started to smoke, I remembered."

"It's alright, love."

"It's not alright! Hermione's tape was in there. Her last message! What if she wanted to tell us where she would be hiding, so we could come and get her? What if she wanted to warn us about something? Tell us who killed her? It's not fucking alright!"

"RONALD!"

Ron panted and stared at his mother stubbornly, his face was set and only when Harry reached out to grasp his arm, did his body deflate, and he let his head hang low. "S'rry."

"Let's all just..., let's calm down," Harry said with a heavy voice, the fact that he was tired and needed sleep slowly seeped into him. They all needed sleep to regain their energies, otherwise, they would fall off their chairs at some point.

"Can we contact the Aurors?" He asked then and looked at Mr Weasley and Bill in particular. "Tell them that Hermione was in America. Who knows if she's still there, but that's our last lead. Maybe they can get the authorities there to help. There isn't much we can do now anyway."

His last words were in regards of the tape, which had cost Hermione so much effort to send to him. And he had just let it burn like nothing.

"Dad and I will go to the Ministry," Bill said while his father next to him nodded guiltily. "Harry, if you or Ron show up, anyone would want to talk to you and congratulate you anyway. You wouldn't even be able to make it through the Atrium. We will go to report it and make sure that they contact MACUSA!"

"And get a warrant for Malfoy!" Ron added and everyone looked at him.

"What?" he asked. "He was in some sort of contact with her, you heard her in the end, he might even be her killer. If we catch him, then maybe we know more."

"There is a warrant out for Malfoy anyway," Bill argued. "He's a confirmed Death Eater, so they will look for him anyway. And we will make sure that they will interrogate his parents about it as well."

"Yes, he is a Death Eater. But maybe now, he's also a murderer." Ron mumbled and Harry couldn't help but agree with him. Draco's parents might have changed sides but there was no trace of Draco himself, so who knew what he's been up to.

Now, they had a least the hint that he's been in America as well to hunt down Hermione, and it was possible that he might have killed her in the end.

"You do that," Molly said, and everyone jerked up. "In the meanwhile, we all need to get some sleep. I was given a patch of dreamless sleep at Hogwarts. We will all take it to make sure that we will actually get some sleep and not lay awake wondering what if…" She sent a pointed look in Harry and Ron's direction.

Everyone nodded and grumbled an agreement while Arthur and Bill got up to go to the Ministry, the others waited for Molly to return with the potion.

* * *

 **At the same time, somewhere in the rainforest in Brazil**

* * *

Hermione groaned as she blinked her eyes open.

Her head hurt and everything hurt and she was certain that the only things he ever was able to move again were her eyelids. And even they felt heavy.

"Seriously, Granger, for a moment I thought that I'd lost you."

The voice was too loud and Hermione saw how a shadow leant over her but her vision was still too blurry to see who it was. So, instead, she just groaned again.

She felt something cold against her lips, entering her mouth, only to run down her throat - she must have been given some water. She tried to swallow it, but she couldn't.

"Take it easy," the voice said again and she felt some pressure on her head. "You've been out for nearly three days."

Hermione opened and closed her eyes, trying to adjust her vision and to move her body, but everything ached and hurt, so she just continued to lie there.

"I'll give you this antidote now. It will lessen the numbing feel you are probably experiencing. I can't give it all to you at once, only a few sips over the next hour but if you stay put, then you should get better."

She felt another cold liquid enter her mouth, just a little, but this time she was able to swallow. A warm feeling instantly waved through her body and she felt a tingling in her fingers and toes. However, everything still hurt, so she just closed her eyes again and waited.

After a while, she got another sip. And then another and the minutes ticked by and after the tenth sip or so, she was able to open her eyes again and this time her vision was clear.

She was able to move her head a little as well as moving her arms and legs slightly. There was no pain but a numbing feeling as if she had been stunned somehow but it now slowly subdued with every sip of the potion.

As she turned her head, she got a glimpse of what looked like the inside of a tent. It wasn't large, like a Wizard's tent but small like a Muggle one - just one compartment and she was lying directly on the floor, on a sleeping bag of some sort.

"Oh good, you are finally awake."

The front was folded back a little so that someone could put their head inside before they stepped inside fully, and then fell to their knees next to Hermione.

"Another round."

Hermione felt a hand squeezing under her head to lift it up gently; a small phial was then pressed to her lips, so she opened her lips to let the potion run into her mouth. She swallowed and felt warm again.

"The hour's up soon. About eight more sips and then you should feel no different than when you have a really bad hangover. You might need to throw up, though. It's a side effect of the antidote."

 _Antidote?_

She tried to ask what she needed an antidote for but her throat was too dry and hurt; she was afraid to have a coughing fit if she tried too hard. She still opened her mouth and a sound came out but it was no words.

She turned her head again to the side after the hand had put it back gently on the pillow. Her brown eyes followed his hand as he reached for a piece of paper, lying next to her head, and wrote something down with what looked like a blue ballpoint pen, a Muggle one.

His brows furrowed in concentration as he took his notes. He was probably documenting her recovery, how much of the antidote he had given her when and what process she made. He bit his lower lip absentmindedly, a nervous habit and Hermione managed a weak smile.

He seemed collected and professional in trying to heal her but the shaking of his hand, as well as the lip biting, betrayed him.

She tried to raise her arm, wanting nothing more than to flatten the wrinkles on his forehead to make him look less stressed and anxious. She managed to get her hand up to reach for him. The movement caused the sleeping bag beneath her to rustle and the sound made him look up startled. A second later, Hermione felt cool fingers wrap around her hand.

His head appeared above hers; she could feel his breath on her cheek. He was breathing shallowly as if he had to control himself from gasping. Grey eyes met brown and Hermione tried to smile at him again.

"You scared me, Granger. For a moment I thought that I dragged you through this whole disaster and in the end, it was for nothing. All the hard work, only to have you nearly die from a bloody snake bite in the end. A fucking snake! While you were out, I sat there and thought that this was just another way to torture me into insanity."

Hermione tried to apologise but her breath caught as he leant down and his lips brushed her forehead carefully.

"You're still a little feverish but it's getting better. I had to sleep outside because you heated the tent up so much that I couldn't stand being in here."

Now she wanted to ask what exactly happened as her memory was quite hazy but he was faster.

"The bloody snake was magical by the way," Draco answered, holding up a battered copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. "I got the antidote from the book and that's now the fifth time Scamander saved our arses. Remind me to send him a hamper once we get back home."

He continued to ramble on but Hermione was grateful for the distraction because she slowly got the feel of her limps back. Even though they didn't hurt anymore, they still ached like sore muscles after a workout while her head was pounding like she just partied all night in Vegas. And as she once did, she knew exactly how it would feel like.

"Alright, take another one."

The hand was back behind her head to lift it up and Hermione took another sip of the antidote.

"The snake was poisonous but we had so much luck that we've got all the ingredients for the antidote with us. It was a game against time, I can tell you. You were fine after the bite but then started to sweat, then fainted and went into a fever shock. Thanks to the book and the fact that I was able to identify the snake, I was able to find the instruction for the antidote real quickly. The antidote itself only took half an hour to brew but I had to inject it into your bloodstream within two hours of the bite, so it was close, really close. They wrote that the aftereffects of the bite could last up to two weeks, with fevers, seizures and complete blackouts in between. Besides the fever, you seemed fine actually but a few hours ago you started to seize. It was only then that I read the fineprint that the antidote wouldn't guarantee the cure, it depended on the snake, how much poison was injected and how heavy and healthy the victim is. So, it was basically a fifty-fifty chance, but despite the rather good start, you gave me quite the scare, Granger. I really thought I lost you, especially because I believe that your pulse stopped for a second. But after the seizure you suddenly calmed and then your temperature fell and I knew that you had made it. Don't ever do that to me again, do you hear me!"

He scolded her with hard eyes and again, Hermione wanted to reach up to put her hand on his face to smooth out the lines of worry. He worried too much in the past months and it started to show on his face.

She blinked at him and he stared down at her with a stubborn glare as if it was her fault. Well, it obviously was, but anyway.

"Drink up, we are almost done," he then said, growling at her in annoyance; Hermione smiled for the third time. He was still holding her hand, so she squeezed his fingers lightly, as good as she could. His eyes widened a little in response and then softened. He sighed, sitting back before he gave her another sip of the antidote which apparently had saved her life.

* * *

Hermione didn't remember falling asleep.

But the next time she woke up, she felt way better. Her body didn't feel paralysed anymore, she had control of every single limp and besides the small aching, it was her head, which hurt the most. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head, only to find a small note and another phial just next to her head.

 _For the headache. Avoid fast movement, might cause sickness. - D_

Hermione reached over to take the vial before she put it to her mouth and downed it. Her head cleared and soon, she felt quite good; besides the sore muscles, she was fine. She still listened to his advice and took it slow, first sitting up slightly, waiting before she was sure that she wouldn't get sick.

After a while, she knew that she would be able to get up but the tent was too small for her to stand anyway, so she crawled slowly towards the entrance to zip it open and pull it aside. She stuck her head out; the humid air of the rain forest made her instantly sweat. Her breathing was laboured because of the heavy air and she realised that there was a cooling charm inside the tent, the reason why it was so pleasant inside and so uncomfortable outside.

She debated if she should stay in the tent, which felt amazing; however, she forced herself to climb out of the tent slowly, zipping it back up once she was outside.

The air was hot and filled with the sounds of the jungle around them. Birds chirped and plants rustled around the small camping area. There was a firepit in front of the tent with a log for sitting. Their tent was erected on a small clearing and Hermione didn't remember the place, so he must have moved them here after she had been bitten.

She looked around the empty place, there was no trace of him and it wasn't in his interest to leave her alone like this, especially when she suffered from being almost poisoned to death.

"How are you feeling?"

Hermione turned around to see him appear between two high plants behind the tent. She frowned at him as he stepped closer, wiping some dirt of his arms.

"I checked the protection charms. I made them bigger to keep the animals farther away from the camp side; I couldn't risk that they smell your sickness."

He stepped around the tent and walked closer, eyes soft with concern. "Is everything alright?"

Hermione watched him him getting closer, and then saw the layer of sweat glistening on his skin. The tips of his hair were damp and dark from the humidity; in addition, he only wore some shorts, thus revealing his chest. He must have put a charm on to keep the insects away from his skin as it was not recommended to walk around this forest with so much exposed skin, as Hermione had just learnt the hard way.

He had tanned in the past weeks, the paleness was gone but unfortunately, the darker skin made his scars stand out even more. They were almost white, littering his chest in a somehow organised pattern. There were the long, thin ones from the slicing hexes, the thick scarred one from Harry's _Sectumsempra_ and then there were the fine points from the snake bites, which spread over his whole body like the stars scattered the night sky.

She swallowed.

"Hermione?" Draco Malfoy stepped into her vision, his pale blond hair dark from his sweat; she had a clear view on the scars on his chest as he was standing taller than her.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Draco tried again, carefully reaching out to touch her arm.

She snapped out of her trance, trying to push the images of him laying in a puddle of his own blood out of her mind. She still remembered how all those snake bites looked like open - dark holes ripped in ghost-white skin and red blood oozing out of them. They haunted her every night; she shook her head to clear her mind from them.

She looked up and blinked, meeting grey eyes which looked at her in concern.

"I'm alright," she finally croaked, her voice hoarse. She reached out to grasp his wrist, but her fingers slipped off his sweaty skin. She had only a moment to prepare before his arms encircled her and she was pressed against his chest, breathing in his strong scent and she hugged her closer to his body.

"Draco, I'm fine."

"You nearly died!" He argued and pressed her closer, even though it seemed as if it wasn't possible anymore. He somehow managed it, however.

"Draco," she wrung out, and her hands grasped his back tightly, burying her face against his chest as he stroked over her head over and over again.

"Don't ever do this to me again!" He repeated. He had already told her that in the tent but now his words sounded more urgent. Desperate, even.

"I'll try," she mumbled. He grabbed her shoulders to push her away slightly to give her a stern glare.

"What?" She shrugged. "It's not like I did it on purpose."

"We are on our way home and you pull such a stunt. If you'd died, I swear I would have brought you back just to kill you again!"

Her eyes softened and she pressed herself against his chest again. He sighed, starting to stroke her hair once more.

"You smell," she then commented after they hadn't moved in a while. Draco grimaced in response.

"Sorry about your inconvenience. The next time, I'll tell them to pick a place with a more comfortable climate to destroy the world," he answered sarcastically and let go of her before he walked over to the fire. He turned around to glance at her. "You already talk like you are fine again," he then added with a scoff.

Hermione wanted to cross her arms in front of her chest, stomp her feet and pick out their daily bickering but she still felt weak. In addition, her stomach decided to use that moment to make himself noticed.

"I have some fruits, and I kept some of the chicken under a preserving charm. You should probably only eat light food. Come here!" Draco held his hand out and Hermione stumbled over, grabbing it tightly as he pulled her closer. He helped her sit down on the log before he disappeared in the tent but came back out a second later with their bag in his hand.

"But shouldn't we get back as soon as possible? We have to inform somebody about the dragons and we were both gone for almost a year. Harry and Ron will be worried sick and your parents as well."

"If they are still alive," Draco mumbled absently, causing Hermione to slap him on the arm.

"Don't talk like that!" She scolded him, her brows furrowed.

He looked up then, pausing from going through the bag to get some food out for her. His grey eyes stared back at her and she noticed the insecurity in them.

"What if they are not? What if… what if Voldemort punished them for what I did?"

"He doesn't know what you did."

"Are you sure?"

"Draco, stop talking like this, we went through it several times already!" Hermione leant over to grasp his hand, stopping him from nervously going through the bag.

"They are fine," he emphasised each word.

"They are," she reassured, and Draco sighed, averting his eyes. Hermione looked at him and then finally reached up to put her hands on both sides of his face, tilting it up. She forced him to look her in the eyes. "Trust me."

"You know, I do," he scoffed. "I think we established that."

His eyes softened again and he slowly leant forwards to capture Hermione's lips in a sweet kiss. It intensified with every touch of their lips; Hermione wanted nothing more than to drag it out longer but her stomach reminded her again that she hadn't eaten in almost three days.

Draco pulled back and she let go if his cheeks as he drew out his wand to Summon the food from of the bag, on which Hermione had put her undetectable extension charm.

As Draco restarted the fire to prepare the chicken, Hermione already ate a banana while drifting off in her thoughts. They had been on their way back but through the accident, they had lost a few days, she guessed. The snake had suddenly appeared in front of them, but Hermione instantly knew that it wasn't a regular one. The large jagged back of the blue shimmering snake was a bright orange at the top, turning into a deep green at its tails. The one orange eye and one green eye - both matching the respective jag colour - was what gave it away.

It happened too fast and before Draco was even able to get his wand out. The snake had shoot out and Hermione had felt its fangs in her ankle. Draco managed to get it off immediately, and Hermione first felt fine while they continued their way, more cautious now. But less than ten minutes must have passed after the bite when she started to feel dizzy, her legs grew heavy, especially the one with the bite and she had to stop Draco who had taken the lead again. She needed to sit down and have some water as she grew hotter and hotter. Her skin felt like it was on fire and then she had passed out.

"I don't know whether we should continue or not," Draco interrupted her thoughts as he handed her the cooked chicken. "Just because you feel better at the moment, doesn't mean that you made it through, or that the poison left your body completely. I searched the other books and they all stated that it could take up to fourteen days, so you might fall back into the fever. I think we should wait out the night." Draco told her as he made sure that she was eating the chicken.

"I'll take a shower and you should too; then we go back to the tent to catch some sleep," he said, deciding for both of them; Hermione just nodded while watching him _Accioed_ the bucket and the two towels they had stolen from the motel out of their bag. He filled the bucket with water to heat it up. It wasn't dark yet, but Hermione already felt exhausted; she looked forward to the quick shower before disappearing into the cooled tent.

"You think you are up for it?" Draco asked and Hermione nodded in response as she finished up her piece of chicken. She accepted Draco's wand from him and then watched him reach down to open his shorts and strip them off.

Levitating the bucket in the air, she carefully tipped it so that the water would run over him who was busy soaping himself up. They had perfected the whole showering with one controlling the bucket to create a continuous stream while the other was able to wash.

While she concentrated on the bucket, her glance wandered to Draco beneath who had his back turned to her. Hermione knew that his back was similar to his front, with fang bites littered over his skin. There was a particularly nasty one, at the junction of his neck and shoulder. It wasn't completely visible from the front but from the back, she could see it clearly. The attack had been from behind and the aim had been his throat.

She shuddered at the thought of how he had looked like after the attack. The movement made the bucket tip over further and Draco's spluttered at the torrent as the bucket emptied itself over him. He spun around to give Hermione a glare, who smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I got distracted," she said before she filled up the bucket once more with warm water. It usually took them three to four buckets of water to be done, less than when they had a real shower but still enough to get clean. And because of the humid air, they needed the shower at least once a day.

After Draco was done, he grabbed the towel from Hermione to start to dry himself. Hermione knew that she should get the shower done soon, so they could go back to the tent or otherwise they would start to sweat again and then it would have been all for nothing. She watched Draco who ignored the fact that he should get dressed again and instead rubbed his hair dry with the towel.

"Come on!" Draco told her and she scrambled up, her hands going to her shirt, which she now realised smelled horrible. How had Draco stood to be in the tent with her the whole time?

She pulled the shirt over her head and then reached down to pull down the capri trousers she was wearing. She had no bra on, which she had already known since she woke up, and it felt good to get the sticky fabric off her skin.

Draco had already prepared her bucket, and he handed her the soap as she walked over to the place where he had been standing just moments before. The ground was soft from the water and when the bucket levitated above her and the warm water hit her skin, Hermione couldn't help but moan.

"Would you bloody stop that!" Draco demanded as he gathered their clothes in a pile. He would soak them after her shower to get them as clean as he could. Hermione frowned but then busied herself with the soap, making sure to be thorough. Meanwhile, Draco started to clean the camp side, leaving the fire on, but packing the things back in the bag, all while he still levitated the bucket about Hermione. As much as their improvised shower was working, it wouldn't be the first time that one got hit by the dropping bucket because the other was too distracted to keep the Levitation Charm up.

As Hermione soaped up her breasts, she noticed Draco's glances towards her, but especially her hands - similar to him, the bucket sometimes tipped too much so that the torrent of water was more than it was supposed to be.

When Draco was done with cleaning, the bag back in the tent, he waited until she was finished and Hermione couldn't help but notice his reaction to her shower. She raised her eyebrow at him suggestively but he pointedly ignored her.

"Hurry up, I'm starting to sweat again!"

"So come under the water again."

"I just dried my hair."

"Are you for real?"

Draco scoffed, but then she took two strides over to where she was standing. His body pressed against her back as the last bit of water washed over them. Then the bucket fell to the ground with a crash.

His front was pressed against her back, the evidence of him watching her shower prominent against the hollow of her back. She pressed back a little and Draco's growl sounded near her ear. She felt his teeth graze her shoulder and his tongue swipe over her wet skin.

"Let's get back to the tent," Hermione told him, and he reluctantly let go of her. She got the bucket and he filled it up again before they dumped their dirty clothes inside, putting it down next to the tent. They crawled inside.

Inside, Draco gave her the second towel to wrap her dripping hair in it. The tent was cool thanks to the charm, and it actually started to get a little chilly. Draco seemed to notice it because he waved his wand and the temperature rose to make it more comfortable.

"Could you give me some clothes?" Hermione nodded towards their bag, but Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need clothes for?"

"Haha, very funny," Hermione rubbed the towel over her curls until they were damp and not dripping with water anymore. She quickly wiped her arms and legs, but when she started to wipe her chest, two hands grabbed her wrist and then Draco's mouth covered hers hungrily.

The weight of his body caused her to fall back on her sleeping bag, with one of his hand wrapped around the side of her neck while the other grabbed her hip, forcing her to grind her pelvis against his erection.

"Oh," the sound left her open mouth in surprise as his movements caused her to feel the friction _just right_. His breath was heavy against her lips as he continued to kiss her feverishly and the hand on her hips moved down her side until he grabbed the underside of her thigh to hoist it up. His hand slid further towards the hollow of her knee and he pressed her leg further out, causing her to spread her legs further so that he could settle himself better between them.

"Draco..." Her arms went around him to grasp his prodding shoulder blades. Her nails left white marks on his skin, matching his scars but Hermione didn't care when she broke their kiss to throw her head back to let out a long and painful moan.

"We probably shouldn't do this, considering you nearly died," the blonde said, breathing heavily against her neck as he started to litter it with kisses. He dipped his head lower, catching the top of her breasts where he caught the sensitive skin between his teeth and the sucked slightly to draw the blood to the surface.

"Probably not," she gasped out. "But then, we nearly died a few times in the past months and it didn't stop us before," she laughed throatily as he chuckled.

"That's true, I remember New Mexico," Draco said, kissing her in between words. "And Guatemala, and Honduras the many, many, _many_ times in Colombia."

He grinned down at her as she rolled her eyes.

"I get it," she answered and then she wanted to move her hips but Draco had her pinned down and he was teasing her with the slow thrusts of his hips which just caused his erection to slid up and down her folds, driving her slowly crazy.

Draco let go of her breast with a smack of his lips. He looked up to meet her eyes while she glanced down at him through heavy-lidded eyes. He was about to slid down further, his tongue darting out to lick his lips and Hermione knew what he was about to do but she had no patience for that, so she reached up from his back to fist a bunch of his damp hair. He looked surprised at the move especially as she pulled hard at his hair to drag him back up.

"Not today," she growled through gritted teeth at him. "Later," she added when she saw his questioning look, but then he reluctantly nodded before moving back up, his chest pressing against her breasts once more. She felt him poke at her entrance. Just a bit, so she tried to wriggle her way around him but he wasn't having any of it. His hand under her knee tightened, certainly leaving some bruises behind but he hoisted her leg up once more before he shifted quickly. He was inside of her without a warning.

The guttural sound which came out of Hermione's throat when he entered her nearly made him come.

He was moving his hips slowly at first but at her demands, he started to speed up and Hermione arched her back under him and she knew that it wouldn't take much longer. Her nails dug into his skin and her other hand, which held the bunch of hair tightly, forced his head down and her lips attacked his furiously while Draco couldn't help but groan every time Hermione nearly ripped the hair from his scalp.

A violent snap of his hips at the right angle did it for Hermione. She squeezed around him as she came and Draco grunted at the feeling as he quickly followed her before the two of them collapsed inside the small tent.

Still panting heavily, he rolled off her and he draped an arm around her waist to pull her closer against his side. They were sweaty again, so Hermione reached for the discarded towel to wipe them down quickly.

She leant her head against his shoulders and closed her eyes, trying to control her hammering heart. He did the same, as she could hear his heartbeat while his breath came out in slow puffs. Hermione sighed as she snuggled closer.

Then she suddenly jerked up, startling Draco out of his afterglow doze.

"Oh Sweet Circe, Harry!"

"Excuse me?"

Hermione turned towards him but then she scrambled up to crawl over to their bag. Irritated, he watched her pick up his wand to hold it over the bag.

" _Accio_ cassette tape." Nothing.

" _Accio_ Harry's tape." Nothing.

" _Accio_ Harry Potter's parcel." Again, nothing.

"Damn it!" Hermione cursed, and then turned towards Draco who had sat up in the meantime.

"What is it?"

"The tape is gone."

"What tape?"

"The one I recorded in January, remember?"

"The one with the bequest charm? Yes. How can it be gone? Have you lost it along the way?"

"No, I'm sure it was in the bag, I just saw it last week when I was searching for something. You said that I nearly died - what if the tape was sent to Harry?"

"But you are alive." Draco edged closer.

"Yes, but the bequest charm is activated when a wizard is dying and it uses the last bit of magic to transport the object to the chosen person. If they die slowly or quickly doesn't matter, there is still a bit of magic left that the charm uses to activate. You said that my heart stopped or at least you think that it did... What if I was on the edge of death and the charm got activated?" Hermione started to panic.

"So, what if it did?" Draco asked confused.

"You heard what I recorded on the first side, Draco!" She retorted. "What if they think you killed me or something like that."

"But you put something in Side B as well. I was there when you recorded it and explained everything to Potter how it really was. If he gets the tape, he will listen to both sides. Besides, you will have to tell him anyway, so what's the big deal?"

"I don't know. The tape wasn't complete. We recorded the second part in January and by then we weren't, well, we weren't _this_ close. What if they misunderstood me?"

"Then we will clear it up! We are alive and we will go home in the next two days. What does it matter if he gets the tape now instead of later?"

Hermione looked around with wide eyes, panic rising within her. She had no idea why it freaked her out that Harry got the tape. Maybe it was for the fact that he could think that she was dead once he figured out how she send it to him. What if he did?

What if he was dead?

What if the war was lost? Would they arrest her once they got back?

What if it was won? Would they arrest Draco?

"You need to calm down!" Draco grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. "Everything will be alright. Potter will listen to both sides and he will know what is going once we return, you can fill in all the blanks, simple as that."

Hermione nodded absently and she let Draco pull her back down on the sleeping bag. He snuck an arm around her before pressing her against his front once more, returning to the position they had taken before her freak-out.

"Maybe we should send an owl?" She suddenly asked after a while.

"You haven't send an owl in the past months, so the two days won't matter," Draco rolled his eyes. "Besides, we are in the middle of the rainforest, I doubt there is a post owl around. You could try and send a parrot, of course."

"Right, right," Hermione mumbled, and Draco sighed.

"Nothing on that tape will cause any misunderstandings. If Potter sits down to listen to both sides patiently, then everything will be explained. Sure, the first side looks bad but the second one makes up for it."

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so. You recorded it before we attacked Nagini. You cleared up why I was there and what we would be doing and how and when we would return to Britain if everything worked according to our plan. Sure, the fact that the tape reached Potter might freak him out at first but you are well and all we can hope for is that he or Weasley won't do anything stupid in the next hours." Draco assured her and stroked her back. She shivered and inched closer.

Then, she nodded and buried her face in his chest. Draco put his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

They were quiet for a while, so Draco thought she had fallen asleep.

"Don't leave me," he whispered against her skin quietly and Hermione almost missed it. She opened her eyes again and tilted her head up to look at him. He had his eyes closed but then he slowly blinked them open; she was lying close enough to see the dark sparks of blue within the the grey. He blinked again, breaking the moment.

"What makes you say that?" She frowned, now turning completely in his arms to face him.

"We are about to go home and we have no idea what we will find there."

She brought an arm up between them, tracing the lines around his eyes with the tip of a finger. She pouted. "I could say the same thing to you."

"I don't have anything else but you."

"You have your family and your house, your money. You can finish your education and do something. I don't have a family anymore, I don't have a capital or a home-"

"You have Hogwarts," Draco told her softly. "And the Weasleys. They are your home."

"If they are still alive," she said, repeating his earlier words. Draco closed his eyes, leaning into her touch with a sigh.

"You have me," he then added, opening his eyes again.

"I do, don't I?" She smiled at him warmly. "And somehow I feel that that's everything I need."

Draco didn't say it but the _at the moment_ hung heavy in the air between them.

"Tomorrow we should be able to get back to Wizarding Rio. We have to see if you can _Apparate_ , otherwise we might have to add two or three days. The portkey should be ready for us," he changed the topic and Hermione let him. She nodded absently as she leant her head against him, her hand sliding down to rest next to her head on his chest.

Draco's arm tightened around her and he watched her fall back asleep, his eyes never leaving her face until her breathing slowed down, relaxing in his arms.

Only when he was sure that she was asleep, did he close his eyes as well and tried to follow her.

* * *

It happened during the night.

Draco was woken up by her shaking. Her body had started to move violent in his arms. First he thought it was another nightmare - one of them had at least one per night - but when she opened her eyes, he instantly knew that he was wrong.

With a _Lumos_ he pointed the light at her face and saw how sweaty she looked. The fever had broken out again.

He sat up and quickly reached for their bag to get the antidote for the poison to give her a small sip. She took it and calmed visibly, but not enough to make Draco think that everything was ok.

He knew that she needed an expert, a real healer, who could confirm whether the poison had left her body or not. She needed a hospital, not a makeshift first aid session in a tent in the middle of the Brazilian rain forest.

And he also knew that he couldn't wait any longer.

He put on some clothes before he put a shirt and some trousers on her as well. He got the wet clothes from outside, dried them by magic to hastily dump them in the bag before levitating her outside carefully. Once she lay safely on the ground, he dismounted the tent, storing everything in their he was done and made sure he had everything, he put on the backpack and then returned his attention to her, , still lying unconsciously on the ground; now that she was exposed to the humid air, she had started to sweat even more.

He heaved her up in his arms, making sure that she was pressed tightly against his side before he closed his eyes and concentrated on the destination.

And then, he _Apparated_ them away.

* * *

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley sat across Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy in an interrogation room. They all stared at each other in suspicion.

There was an Auror with them in the interrogation room and he started to grow uncomfortable at the tension in the air. After Arthur and Bill had reported that they had received a message from Hermione Granger via a bequest charm after the battle, the Aurors had made it their priority to locate the missing war heroine.

It had been a busy two days since then, they were still hunting down Death Eaters and they had to make reports on almost everything. Hogwarts needed rebuilding, so did Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. There were other places that had been attacked and the hospitals were full with wounded people. There were the dead which needed to be tended to. Everything was just a lot of work. Searching for Hermione might be priority, yet there were only two Aurors in charge of the search. They had contacted the MACUSA but they still waited for the full report from them.

The British Ministry got help from the French and German Ministry, they send Healers and Aurors as support and everyone was grateful for the support. The first Death Eaters had been escorted to Azkaban to await their trials but there were also a few - like the Malfoys - who had just been put in cells at the Ministry.

Currently, Harry and Ron were present while the Malfoys were questioned if they knew anything but they just repeated what they had after the Final Battle - that Draco had disappeared the night Dumbledore died, that Snape had brought him back to the Manor to Voldemort before Lucius and Narcissa had been able to talk to him; the Dark Lord had send him away as punishment for his failure. Nobody had told them were he was, they had no contact while Voldemort had forced them to stay put and support him, otherwise he would made sure that Draco wouldn't survive.

They had no clue about America or Hermione or anything else, which was mentioned on the tape.

"So, again for the protocol? You can't confirm anything that Mr Potter just told you?" The Auror said and Harry looked up at his words.

"I told you, the only thing I know is that…the Dar… that Voldemort sent out recruiters to different countries to gain followers. The fact that he had sent someone to the United States is logical but I haven't heard anything else about it. By that time, I was already excluded from the inner circle," Lucius answered while the Auror nodded, taking notes.

"What about the snake?"

"Nagini? There was a snake at his side, so I thought it was Nagini. Only later, I found out that it was just a snake which looked like Nagini. I didn't really examine it that closely. And I certainly didn't know that he send Nagini away for protection."

Harry was about to say something when the door flew open and the other Auror stormed inside, looking sweaty and anxious.

"We found them," he announced.

"Who?"

"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. They just _Apparated_ into St Mungo's. The staff informed us after we had released the warrant for Mr Malfoy yesterday. He's already in arrest." The Auror breathed hard, and his colleague got up quickly.

Harry saw that Narcissa grasped Lucius' hand tightly; the oldest Malfoy turned towards his wife, whose eyes looked hopeful at the news that their son was still alive.

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked when Harry kept silent.

"She's in a critical condition, but she's alive," the Auror answered and both Harry and Ron slumped back in their seats, somewhat relieved.

"What about our son?" Narcissa asked, and everyone turned towards her. Her eyes flicked to Harry quickly before she looked at the Auror again. "How's Draco?"

"Uhm, he's alive if that's what your are asking," the Auror answered rather rudely. "He will be escorted to Azkaban in the next hour."

"What?" Lucius exclaimed. "Why?"

"He's charged for murder and carrying the Dark Mark. According to Mr Potter, we have a serious reason to assume that he tried to murder Miss Granger. She's been poisoned and it's unclear whether she will make it."

"What kind of poison?" Harry asked, not daring to stand up as he believed that the others would follow his example.

"From a snake bite," the Auror answered.

"How do you know it was a snake bite?" Ron asked now.

"Mr Malfoy told the Healers. He gave them a detailed description."

"Wait, so Malfoy told the Healers what bit Hermione, so they can save her?" Harry wanted the know and the Auror was confused for a moment before he slowly nodded.

"I need to talk to him!" Harry finally jumped from his seat. "I want to talk to Malfoy!"

"But he will be escorted-,"

"I don't care! He brought Hermione to a Healer and I need to know why; I need to hear him say it. I need to know what happened."

The two Aurors looked taken aback, but considering who they were talking to, they exchanged a look and then nodded.

"I'll bring you to him," one of them said while the other turned towards the Malfoys to say something.

"How about we all go?" Ron interrupted.

"What?"

"We all go to wherever Malfoy is kept and we all will listen to what he has to say!"

Ron as well as the two Malfoys got up, all of them looking determined, so the two Aurors had no change but to accept the choice. After Narcissa's and Lucius' hands were bound, the group stepped out of the interrogation room to walk down the hallway towards the lifts.

Draco was held in one of the cells by the Wizengamot; so when Harry and the others stepped outside the lift and were lead down there, the anticipation grew. They reached the cells, most of them were full, holding other people.

They reached Draco's cell and Harry instantly spotted the trademark blond hair. He was sitting on the wooden bank, his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard the steps; when he saw that he had visitors, he quickly got up to walk over, his hands grasping the iron bars of the cell.

"How is she?" His voice was pure panic and Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?" He asked quite dumbly.

"Hermione," Draco repeated. "How is she?"

Before Harry could answer, Narcissa had stepped forwards, approaching the cell. "Draco," she breathed; Draco broke the eye contact with Harry to look at his mother. His eyes softened when she smiled up at him.

"How are you, darling?" She wanted to reach up to touch his cheek but the binds on her arm kept her from doing so. Her smile fell a little.

"I'm fine, Mother," Draco answered with a tone Harry had never heard him use before.

Then Draco snapped his head back to Harry and he frowned. "Potter, why the hell am I in here?"

"Funny, we wanted to ask you the same thing, Malfoy!" Ron replied. "What the hell did you do with Hermione?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"You are a liar!"

"You heard what she told you, right? Why would she lie?"

Harry held up his hand to keep Ron from replying. He stepped closer to the cell. "What are you talking about?"

"The tape of course, you must have received it, right? About two days ago?"

"Yes, how do you know?" Harry narrowed his eyes.

Draco huffed. "What do you mean, how _do I_ know? Have you listened to the tape?"

"Of course, we did!"

"So, why am I kept as a prison?"

"Because you tried to murder Hermione!"

"It was fake, we explained that on the tape! Are you sure you listened to it? The whole tape? Side A _and_ B?"

Harry and Ron grew quiet, and Draco stared at them in disbelief.

"You are joking?"

"It kind of melted before we were able to finish Side B!"

"It kind of melted? How can it kind of melt?"

"How do you even know what was on the tape?"

"I listened to it! And I was there when Hermione recorded Side B. I even spoke on the bloody thing!"

"Yes, well, looks like you have to tell us again," Harry admitted and Draco groaned in annoyance.

"Are you sure?" The Auror asked for the first time. He had only watched the exchange until now.

"Yes, I'm sure,and I'll take the responsibility." Harry nodded and the Auror shrugged, and then casted a charm to open the cell. Draco pushed out and went straight to his mother to give her a tight hug, whispering something in her ear at which she nodded frantically. Harry couldn't understand what was being said, but watching Narcissa's face tear up confirmed that Malfoy hadn't just told her a secret plan on how they would try to escape or something. Draco looked over his mother's shoulder to meet his father's eyes and they just nodded at each other sharply. The air in the hallway suddenly grew heavy.

"Draco, what happened to your neck?" Narcissa suddenly exclaimed and Draco automatically reached up to tug his shirt back up.

"Nothing," he mumbled absently.

"That's not nothing, that's a bite wound."

"It _was_ a bite wound. It's already healed, Mother. Don't worry."

"Can we get to the point?" Ron asked impatiently. "Or should we put on some water for tea first as well?"

Draco sent a cold glare in his direction but then he suddenly seemed to remember something because he bit back his probably snarky retort as an astounded Harry noticed.

"I'll tell you everything but only if we do it at St Mungo's," Draco demanded and Harry and Ron agreed instantly.

The Aurors seemed wary but they agreed to follow with the , Harry and escorted Draco down the corridor while the Aurors took Narcissa and Lucius. And together they marched towards the nearest floo exit.

* * *

Hermione was lying in the hospital bed, looking pale and sick.

The Healers had taken care of her already when Harry and the small group arrived, they had been granted to go to her room if they stayed quiet and responsible. She was in a coma-like state and was supervised by some detection spells. They had given her an antidote for the poison but it would still take a few days until the poison was definitely out of her body.

The small group was standing awkwardly in the room, especially because upon entering, Harry, Ron as well as Draco had simultaneously raced towards Hermione's side, only to then look up to notice that they weren't alone by her side. As she only had two hand, Harry and Ron had managed to grasp either of them while Draco stood around a little awkward.

Narcissa and Lucius exchanged a glance, not really sure what they were even doing here, but in the end, Draco was alive and if this helped to get him free, they would be staying. The Auror closed and locked the door before they each stood left and right of it, waiting for whatever was about to begin to start.

Draco walked past Harry, who was holding Hermione's hand and looked at his best friend in pain. She was back and she was alive, he really couldn't believe it.

"Granger?" Draco asked unexpectedly both Harry and Ron looked up to see that the blond had moved even further up and was now leaning down, only inches away from her face.

"You promised not to leave, do you hear me? I kept my promise to bring you back home and now you have to keep your promise not to leave me." Draco's words were a barely audible whisper; only Harry and Ron were able to catch them. They exchanged a confused look.

Draco then straightened and turned back to his two former schoolmates. He frowned when he noticed that they were both holding one of Hermione's hands.

"I can't believe you cocked up the tape thing!" Draco then exclaimed and Harry had the nerve to look sheepishly.

"Excuse me," one of the Aurors said, leaning forwards; the three turned towards him. "But what's a tape?" he continued.

"It's a Muggle device to store data," Draco answered just as Harry opened his mouth. "It's especially created to store sounds, especially music or other recordings."

Harry looked over at Malfoy surprised.

"What?" Draco turned towards him. "You think I didn't know, Potter? There's a lot that you don't know, for example that I can even drive a car. You knew it," Draco said, growing angry, "if you had listen to the bloody B-Side!"

"Alright, we get it! But we weren't able to do it and that's why we need you to retell us everything, Malfoy!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

The two young men were staring at each other until Narcissa cleared her throat. They looked at her again.

"Maybe we should sit down?" She suggested pointing towards the small table and Harry and Draco both deflated. They walked over to the table and the four chairs, where everyone but Lucius and the two Aurors took a seat. Lucius stepped behind Narcissa, putting a hand on her shoulder while the Auror's continued to guard the door.

"Alright, where should I begin?" Draco asked and looked from his mother to Potter and Weasley.

"How about what happened between the night when Hermione went down to the docks and now? Everything that was supposed to be on Side B of the cassette," Harry asked; Draco sighed but eventually nodded.

"Alright. This is going to take a while, so lean back and listen!"


	3. B-Side

**Chapter 3:**

 **B-Side (Recovered and Rewound)**

* * *

 _Harry, welcome to the B-Side._

 _I know that the first side must have shaken you and I dearly hope that you receive this in a more or less quiet moment. I hope that the war will be over by then and that you are well._

 _That everyone is well._

 _You probably guessed that it wasn't over after the A-Side, considering that I had no wand and wouldn't have been able to cast the bequest charm yet. But you did receive this tape via the bequest charm, so I must have gotten a wand and brewed the potion somehow._

 _A few things happened since the night at the docks, strange things, Harry. We have January now and the potion is ready. It's simmering next to me and once I'm done with telling you what happened, I will wrap this tape and put the bequest charm on it._

 _I'm still being followed, Harry, that much hasn't changed. The Muggle police are off my back at least, the Heather Green picture isn't in the news anymore but I guess, they still have it at police stations and at the airports._

 _But that's a side issue. I need to do something here because I found some things out. And if they are true then that's bad - really, really bad. I know that I have to stop them first before I can return home. If I don't, then everything we ever fought for was for nothing._

 _Nagini is here, too, Harry. And she's one of the Horcruxes. I think Voldemort send her here to keep her safe and away from you. I'm close to catching her and I will kill her, Harry and I hope that you will notice it somehow._

 _There is another thing I need to tell you and I'm really afraid to tell you! Because I have no idea how you will react to it. Well, it's not like I can see it, right? Your reaction, I mean. Considering that I'm dead, probably, maybe, I'm not quite-_

 **Merlin's balls, Granger! Would you stop rambling and just bloody tell him!**

 _Shut up, Malfoy! I'm the one talking here! Okay, Harry, so remember when I said that Malfoy was after me to kill me? Well, he's not… haha, I mean, Malfoy, Draco, it's really hard to-_

 **Granger! Just give me that thing!  
** _  
No! It's recording, Draco, you can't just pull it out of my hand!_

 _I can't deal with your stuttering anymore, bloody hell. Now hand me the bloody cassette thing!_

 _Potter!_

 _This is Malfoy and me -_ _you have to get closer to the microphone, Draco! Not this close!_ **\- Granger, I swear, just shut up! Alright, so Potter, listen! I'm not here to kill Granger or anybody else! I was sent here after Dumbledore's death. Snape dragged me out of Hogwarts and back home to the Manor, where Voldemort was waiting for us. He wasn't happy with me and I was instantly escorted and send here via a portkey, I think not even my parents know where I am.**

 _Anyway, Thorfinn Rowle was already stationed here and had the task to scout out more followers for Voldemort's cause. I had to run errands and such stuff at first but then everything changed, when they brought Gran - Hermione to us. She was injured and they arranged the accident with the Greens, so Hermione was brought in a Muggle hospital to heal. After that, it was my task to observe her until I was able to help her flee. While she was on the run, I started to experiment with how I could separate Voldemort from my mind. Through the Dark Mark, he was able to locate me and he tried to read my mind but because of my Occlumency skills, he wasn't able. So, Granger was on the run and I tried to stall catching her until I was able to cut Voldemort off completely, the night at the docks, that's when I caught up with her and told her my plan and three days later, we were together on the run._

 _She told me about the Horcruxes and we've been trying to catch Nagini since then and we were close two times already but failed. Now we have the chance again and we will go for it. We managed to get the ingredients for the bequest charm and Hermione still insists on putting it onto this tape._

 _I didn't insist!_

 **Yes, you did! We went to Arizona because of your bloody charm! That Thunderbird nearly bit my head off!**

 _You are exaggerating, Draco! Now give me back the recorder!_

 **Wait, I'm not finished ye-**

 _So, Harry, listen! Malfoy hasn't done anything to me, we are fine, alright? Well, as fine as we can be in this situation. We tracked down the Death Eaters, Rowle and Nagini are the leaders and the others are just followers from the United States. I know that Nagini must be one of the Horcruxes! Why would have Voldemort send her away if she's not? She never left his side before, so Draco and I will kill her for you. We hope that you will notice it somehow, that Voldemort slips up somehow when he hears the news._

 _But there is something else, which we found out while we tried to find them. There is a secret dragon refuge in the Brazilian rainforest. They captured dragons and will use them in the war. We believe that the dragons are supposed to be transported to Britain somehow. We are not sure yet how many dragons they have and where they want to attack but we have to stop it. Fighting dragons will be impossible, especially if it is a whole flock._

 _Draco and I decided that after we kill Nagini, we will go to Brazil and find that refuge. After that, we are supposed to get home from Rio, Draco has been arranging a black market_ portkey _for us. Because we won't know what the situation at home will be, we need to be careful._

 _So, yes, we have January now and we are currently in Utah, and Draco just left the room and I will use the time to tell you what happened since the night at the docks._

* * *

Hermione pressed herself against the wall. She knew that she had to stay in the darkness or otherwise the men by the docks might spot her.

She had no magic to make her steps inaudible and she couldn't put a charm around her. She needed to be careful because one wrong step and-

A hand laid itself around her mouth and Hermione let out a silent scream as she was dragged away, the men, she had been watching disappeared from her view and she tried to escape but whoever was holding her was stronger.

"Shh, Granger, don't be stupid!"

Hermione froze; she knew the voice.

Malfoy!

She was dragged further away until they came upon a dark corner and she was unceremoniously pushed into it. As she whirled around she automatically wanted to reach for her wand but then remembered that she didn't have one and so, her hand stayed empty while she faced her attacker.

"Granger."

She nearly screamed when he suddenly appeared in front of her. He was closer than she expected and she walked back slightly, her back hitting an obstacle.

"Malfoy, what the bloody hell?" She hissed at him, blinking against the darkness as she couldn't really see much.

"Granger, what are you doing here, are you stupid?" Malfoy growled back, his head turning to look around nervously.

"I'm done running! I saw the opportunity and I -," she started but he shut her up when he stepped even closer and his hand shot out to grasp her arm tightly, his fingers digging into her skin and she was sure that she would have bruises later on.

"I need you to listen to me, alright?" Malfoy said with a quiet voice and Hermione could feel his breath on her cheek. She frowned.

"Granger, I know that this must be confusing to you but you did good in the past months since you came here. I need you to keep it up a little while longer, I'm nearly done, just three more days."

"Nearly done with what?"

"Cutting him off."

"Who?"

"You know!" Draco grimaced at his words and Hermione's eyes widened.

"Why am I here? Why are you here?" She breathed out and he stepped closer again, lowering his voice even more as his chest brushed hers and he was nearly whispering in her ear.

"I was sent here to kill you and I'm being controlled and watched through the Dark Mark, so I need you to pretend to run from me, so that I can pretend to hunt you until I'm able to cap the connection to Voldemort," the words came out jumbled and fast and his eyes darted around to scan their surroundings.

"And what happens if you are able to cap the connection, Malfoy?" Hermione retorted, not knowing what to do. She had known already that Malfoy was there to kill or harm her but having him admit it was something completely different.

Malfoy inclined his head, once more did his breath hit her cheek. For once his eyes looked desperate when she looked up to them.

"Then, Granger… we will run together."

Her breath stocked and he blinked, his face emotionless and his head snapped up to stare at something. When she tried to turn her head as well, the grip on her arm tightened and she didn't do it.

"I need you to leave now, and you have to pack your stuff and take the next night train out of town. They all will be busy with the meeting and I know that nobody will be on watch tonight. Having you in the same town is too much of a risk. I need three more days and I will meet you in Jackson, Wyoming."

"Malfoy, why should I even trust you?"

His grip tightened again. "Because you are still alive, aren't you? Because I put a location spell on you back in that high school and yet, I never caught up to you. I stalled, Granger, and I don't know how much longer I can pretend. What do you have to lose anyway?" His eyes were sincere, and it was what made Hermione agree.

She nodded.

"Jackson, Wyoming?" She asked again.

"Yes, three days! I will find you there!" Malfoy said and then let go of her before he pulled out his wand. Hermione jerked but then watched how he pointed it at himself.

" _Scourgify_!"

"How nice, Malfoy!" Hermione bit out but Malfoy's head snapped back up. He grimaced.

"Nagini will smell you otherwise."

"Nagini is still here?" Hermione shuddered at the memories of what happened in the parking lot.

"Yes," Draco nodded. "I have no idea why she was sent here as well but she is and she's nothing but trouble. She'd kill me if she would smell you on me."

Hermione opened her mouth to answer but he interrupted her.

"You have to go now! Do what I say and don't try anything else, I know that you came here to probably get a wand and I will try to get you one but you _need_ to leave."

"Yes, I will!" Hermione answered and Draco nodded sharply before he turned around and walked away without another word.

* * *

Hermione paced the motel room on Jackson, Wyoming for the past hour now. She had arrived in the morning and since then had waited for something to happened.

For _him_ to show up.

She had no idea what she was thinking when she agreed to meet with Malfoy here. But he had been right, what did she have to lose?

A sharp knock on her door made her flinch and she stared at it for the longest time until a second knock sounded. She then forced herself to move and open the door.

Malfoy was standing in the door frame, leaning against the frame as he was sweating furiously.

"What's wrong?" Hermione's eyes widened as he pushed his way inside the room and she closed the door and locked it.

"Just trying to adjust to the disconnection. It will take a while," the blond gritted out and then made his way over to the bed to sit down. He cradled his left arm against his chest and his breathing grew laboured.

"Are you sure you are alright?" Hermione asked concerned and a little disturbed how naturally he had just walked in here.

"It just hurts."

"What hurts? How did you break the connection, Malfoy?"

He looked up then, sweat was gathering on his forehead as he pulled his hand slowly away from his chest and then carefully pushed his sleeve back.

"I cut it off,"

He turned his arm for Hermione to see and she grew sick at the sight. He had meant it _literally_ , she thought as she stared at the fresh wound on his arm. He was made across his arm, blood was still glistening as the wound was deep, very deep.

He had cut the Dark Mark in half.

"As long as the mark is cut in half, the connection is broken. There is some magic involved and it forced my skin to heal faster but I need to make sure that it stays apart. The mark can't connect again or we are dead."

"Wait, are you saying that you need to _refresh_ this cut?

"Every four hours, yes."

"That's insane, Malfoy!"

"That's what will keep us alive, Granger."

* * *

They stumbled into darkness and Hermione became sick because she hadn't _Apparated_ in so long and it had happened too sudden. After he had gathered some strength in the motel in Jackson, Malfoy had brought them to several places and they have been gone as soon as they landed again. She had never _Apparated_ so many times in a row and it churned her stomach to a point where she couldn't keep her food in any longer.

"Merlin, Granger, pull yourself together."

"Shut up, Malfoy!"

"We need to move further along."

"I need a minute."

"We don't have a bloody minute," Malfoy hissed and Hermione was only able to wipe her mouth with her sleeve before he pulled her out of wherever the hell they had landed.

It was some industrial area, Hermione noticed and they had landed in some sort of warehouse.

"Where are we going?" she asked and he turned around to scrutinise her. Hermione stared up at him challenging before he drew his wand and had the nerve to _Scourgify_ her.

"Now move," he drawled before he turned around and walked away. She stared after him but in the end, she huffed and followed him.

They ended up at the bus stop and Malfoy pulled two tickets from somewhere and a few moments later, a bus stopped in front of them and Malfoy ushered her inside.

They set down next to each other, shoulder to shoulder and Hermione realised how exhausted she was from the _Apparating_ and in general from waiting. She was hungry and thirsty but she didn't dare to talk to Malfoy, who just stared into space next to her. When she glanced over at him, she noticed that he grabbed his left arm with his right hand tightly, putting pressure on it.

"Mal-"

"Don't talk, you fool."

They sat next to each other on the bus after that. Without talking, ignoring each other.

* * *

They got out at another bus stop, one for the Greyhound ones, which would bring them further away. Hermione couldn't help but yawn and stumble due to being so tired and Malfoy cursed at her and continue to drag her after him.

It felt like a half eternity and they still haven't talked more than ten sentences probably. She wanted to ask him so badly what he was doing here? And what she was doing here? and what they were doing now together?

Why had he helped her?

The bus came and somehow, Malfoy had again a pair of tickets. Hermione thought that the bus might have said Denver outside but she wasn't sure. She let Malfoy push her in the bus and down the rows of seats full of sleeping people.

There was an empty row at the end and Hermione crashed into the window seat with her head against the window. Her stomach hurt and she was so exhausted that she didn't even care that Malfoy hissed at her to move the fuck over so that he wouldn't have to deal with touching her.

She let him rip her backpack out of her hand to stuff it in the compartment above them. She just leant her head against the cool window, wishing that she could just go back home.

And that's how she fell asleep, trusting Draco Malfoy to not murder her in her sleep or anything.

She was just too tired to even care if he would.

* * *

When she woke up again, it had started to rain. The bus was dark and the weather outside wet and gloomy. Only the streetlights rolled by and Hermione had to blink a few time to focus on where she was.

She was still too tired to react to the fact that Draco Malfoy was sitting next to her in a bus after he had spent a good two months stalking her. She groaned and closed her eyes again, leaning her head against the seat.

She blinked, then turned around to see that Malfoy was still sitting straight next to her, his right hand pressed on his left arm while he was staring into space.

"How's your arm?"

He just grunted as an answer.

Hermione sighed and let her eyes wander until she spotted something in the dim light of the bus.

"What happened to your neck?"

Hermione whispered the words and Malfoy's neck snapped around so that he could stare at her. Looks like he hadn't noticed when she woke up. He just stared at her and then huffed before he turned around again. "Don't talk to me."

"It looks infected."

"I said don't-"

"Draco!"

He looked astounded as she snarled his name and he actually had no reply for that. He stared him down and then raised his hand, not even backing down. Her glare made him tame and he even let her go as far as reaching for the collar of his shirt to pull it back slightly.

Hermione hissed as she saw what he was hiding beneath.

He pulled back instantly and his jumper slipped from her fingers.

"What happened?" She leant closer, eyes wide.

"Nagini," he just whispered.

* * *

"What the hell did they do to you?"

Hermione wrung out the bloody cloth in the sink, letting warm water run over it.

Draco shrugged, sitting on the edge of the bathtub while he let Hermione take care of the wounds, which littered his upper body.

"They didn't trust me and after what happened in the parking lot at the high school, I got punished because you were able to run away."

"That's barbaric!"

Hermione took the cloth and ran it again over the bite mark on his neck. The skin was inflamed and the spot where the snake fangs had pierced the skin was blackish and bloody, the wound wouldn't close, even after Hermione tried a few spells.

Draco had let her use his wand and that had been the moment where Hermione realised that he was serious about helping her.

That he was serious about running with her.

"It's the poison, I think. That's why the wounds can't close." Draco said as he followed her with his grey eyes.

The brunette sighed and then she glanced down at his arm as she was currently shirtless.

"How's your arm?"

"I have to refresh the cut in about half an hour."

Hermione nodded tightly, biting her lower lip as she concentrated back on cleaning out his wounds.

* * *

"Why did you help me?"

She had whispered the question and half of her hoped that he was asleep. The motel room was dark and they laid both in their respective beds.

She heard a rustle from his side and there was no answer for a long time. She was about to turn around, thinking that he was asleep when he suddenly spoke up.

"I realise how wrong it was. I realised it before, already. I didn't… I didn't want to kill Dumbledore and I've had doubts for a while now but in the end, it had been too late. When I was brought here, I saw it as an opportunity. Running away in this country would be much easier than in Britain. I finally tear away from them all but then you were suddenly there and at first, I wanted to ignore it but I couldn't. I knew that I had to bring you along somehow."

"Thank you."

There was another rustle. "For what?"

"For getting me out, for helping me escape and for stalling time."

He didn't answer.

"Really," Hermione mumbled in her pillow, fluffing it to push her face against it. She yawned. "Thank you, Draco."

She closed her eyes and drifted away slowly but she still was able to hear his response.

"You are welcome, Hermione."

* * *

"We should kill her!"

"Who?"

"Nagini!"

"Are you barmy?"

"So, you want to run and hide until it is just over?"

"That was my plan, yes!"

"That's cowardly, Draco!"

"No, that's Slytherin."

"I'm serious-"

"So am I!"

"The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm sure that Nagini is a Horcrux and that she was sent here to be safe. So, we _have_ to kill her for Harry."

"She's a what?"

"A Horcrux."

"What's a Horcrux?"

"Alright, let me explain…,"

* * *

"Well, that was a fail!" Draco said as he pressed the shirt against his bleeding neck. He sat down on the toilet and watched Hermione stitch together the back of her hand with his wand.

"That was so close," she breathed before she looked up, fear obvious in her brown eyes.

"But she didn't get us! And we were able to flee before the other came," Draco's eyes soften and he got up to walk over where the shaking girl was having problems to keep the knitting spell up.

"We will get her next time," he smiled reassuringly and then reached out to grasp her shoulder with his free hand. He squeezed slightly and she looked up quickly to force a smile at him as well.

After Hermione had told Draco everything about the Horcruxes, they had decided to turn things around. Instead of being the hunted, they became the hunter. They tried to track down Nagini, who was similar to them, travelling all the time.

Having only one wand made things more difficult but the two of them were smart and Draco had enough knowledge about how the others worked that they were quite successful at finding them.

But they needed to catch Nagini alone and they did, when they found out that she was alone as soon as she went in what they called a _hunt_.

She killed for food and it was the only change they had got so far. But it had turned out harder than they expected and in the end, they had to flee again.

"We can't give up! You know that!" Hermione looked up and he stared down at her. His hand on her shoulder squeezed again. He was standing too close and like so many other times, she was able to able to feel his breath against her cheek.

"We won't!" Draco concurred. "We will track them down again and we will get another wand,"

Hermione nodded absently, having finished stitching up her hand where Nagini's fangs had grazed her.

"Let me take a look at your neck," she said gently and reached up to grasp Drac's wrist to pull his hand together with the cloth away.

"How bad is it?"

Hermione chewed on her lip as she looked at the mess, which was Draco's throat. "Her aim was off but I guess, you have to be a little more careful next time. She's definitely out to kill."

"You don't say," Draco answered sarcastically but a glare from Hermione shut him up.

"Take your shirt off, I can clean the bite better that way," the brunette witch demanded with rosy cheeks and Draco smirked down at her.

"Everything you want, Granger."

* * *

"Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Hhhhg!"

"Did you ever hear of the bequest charm?"

"Yeaah," Draco mumbled from his side of the motel room, his bed sheet rustled. She heard him yawn before he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Hermione was still sitting in her bed, her bedside lamp on.

"I made this list of the ingredients and I know that the lunar phase will be right soon, do you think we can somehow get them along the way?"

"Why would you need it?" Draco asked and now he sat up on the bed as well. He was only wearing a pair of pyjama pants as he got up and shuffled over to her bed. He rubbed his eyes as he blinked down at her. She had the motel's notepad and pen in her hand, scribbling away on the paper.

"I made this thing a few weeks back, and I need to send it to Harry somehow. I don't know, nobody knows we are here and I feel like, we should prepare something to let them know what happened, you know… just in case-," she trailed off.

"And you want to put the bequest charm on it?" Draco asked and he sank down at the edge of her bed. Having him in such a close proximity, it didn't bother Hermione anymore.

On the contrary.

The thought made her blush and she blinked a few times before she continued.

"Yes, I will show you tomorrow what I did for Harry, we need to add something, though," Hermione smiled tightly at him.

"Fine, we can gather your ingredients, it's not like we are busy anyway." Draco yawned again and Hermione glanced at the clock at her bedside.

"It's time again," she announced and Draco looked up with lidded eyes. He was exhausted.

"Oh, okay," he reached over to get his wand off her bedside table, they had even accustomed to sharing that and wanted to get to work when Hermione put a hand over his.

"Let me do it, you can barely keep your eyes open," she said gently and Draco looked surprised but then he nodded. He stretched out his left arm, turning it around.

The cut was already crusted with blood and Draco's arm was constantly inflamed and bloody. Having to open up the cut every few hours took its toll and they had to pause more often than they wanted.

Hermione muttered the spell, Draco had thought her, moving his wand up and down his arm and with morbid fascinating, she watched how Draco's skin started to glistened a wet red again, his skin parting along her wand strokes.

It took a whole to open the cut again and to make sure that it was deep enough so that it wouldn't heal as quickly.

Draco hissed but she didn't look up from her task but she had watched him do it a dozen times and more already and she knew that sweat had pooled on his forehead again and that his eyes were pinched shut in pain.

"Almost done," she whispered in sympathy.

* * *

"What did you call it again?"

"A cassette tape," Hermione said as she watched Draco turn it around in his hands.

"And you put our voice on it?"

"Yes, with a recorder!" She held the device up to see. "I recorded my voice and I told Harry what happened to me."

"Can I listen to it?"

"Sure," Hermione said and held out her hand. Draco gave it to her and she put it inside the recorder and rewound it, so it would start on Side A again.

"What made you think of this?"

She shrugged. "It seems a good idea then, and it's something that only a Muggle would know. In case the Death Eater got it, they first had to find out what it even is."

"So, what can you do with it normally?"

Hermione laughed. "You play music, listen to stories, there are many things."

"And you bought this empty? How?"

"You can buy them empty to record things yourself like I did. People use them to create mixtapes."

"What's a mixtape?"

"It's," Hermione blushed. "When you collect music and record them on there, so you can listen to it at home or in the car. You can create your personal playlist with your favourite songs and so on. Sometimes, you make them for your crush, you know."

"Your crush?"

"Yes, it's considered romantic to make a mixtape for someone. You know, you choose your favourite songs and spend some times to create the tape and then you give it to someone you like. That person then will listen to the tape and think about the other. It's quite cheesy, I know."

"I don't get it," Draco frowned and Hermione laughed dryly.

"Of course you don't. But that's alright, never mind. Here, if you press this button, then it will play." Hermione showed him and Draco nodded.

"While you listen, I will take a shower."

* * *

When Hermione came out of the bathroom a few moments later, toweling her hair dry, Draco had finished listening to the tape and was sitting on the bed to stare into space.

"Everything alright?"

Draco was startled and he blinked over at her, then nodded absently.

"We can start to look for the ingredients for the bequest charm if you want," he said slowly. He smiled at her forced.

"But can we add something more to the tape?"

"Of course, Draco. Do you really think I would have send it without setting things straight first? The whole B-Side is still empty, we will record something first."

* * *

They had to postpone it due the fact that they ran into a group of followers a few days later. Nagini wasn't with them but they had at first thought she was and only when they had managed to subdue the four men, they had notice that they were wrong.

"Damn it!" Draco cursed as Hermione binded the men with magical ropes. She had taken all of their wands and while Draco raved about Nagini not being here, she made sure that the other fours would have to stay for a while.

"Can't you look into their minds? Maybe you will find something?"

"Yes, yes, I will," Draco said as he kicked one unconscious body for good measure.

He raised his wand and poited it towards the first one.

" _Legilimens_!"

* * *

"Dragons?" Hermione said with wide eyes and Draco nodded.

They were back in a motel room, far away from their last location.

"I couldn't really see everything but there is some secret reserve in Brazil, which they have taken over. They've been trying to capture dragons and experiment the _Imperius_ on them. They try to use them for the war, Hermione!"

"But, dragons!"

"And I believe that they will have more than one or two. They have a whole flock and imagine what would happened if a dozen dragons attack at the same time. That's insane!"

"We have to stop it!"

"Are you crazy? What else do you want to do? We still need to find Nagini and we are on our way to New Orleans now to get the whole bequest charm ingredients. And then you want to go to Brazil and rescue dragons?" Draco threw up his arms, pacing up and down the motel room while Hermione had on the bed and bit her nails.

"We have to try, Draco! Nobody but us knows about them, nobody will stop them! Everyone is focused so much on Britain that they won't think about other countries. But what if the Brazilian one isn't the only one, huh? What if they have another one in Asia or Africa? You said that Voldemort send out Death Eaters to recruit new followers but what if he sends them away to do something else as well? Rowle gathered quite the followers, right? But they they stay here and he doesn't send them to Britain or anything."

"Yes, you are right! I know that you are right! But let's do one thing after another, alright? We know now also that Nagini is staying at a warehouse in New Mexico for at least two weeks to guard it. We are in the right lunar phase, so we will brew the potion for the bequest charm, put it on the tape, go kill Nagini and the we can go to Brazil, alright?"

Hermione beamed at him satisfied. "Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

Finding the ingredients for the bequest charm wasn't as hard as she imagined.

They had to travel to Louisiana and there, they had been able to find everything, even the right cauldron. There was only one thing missing and while Hermione brewed the potion over a fire in the bathtube, Draco read through her notes.

"A feather from a Thunderbird?"

"Yes, it's the quill you use to write the symbols on the object,"

"Oh great!" Draco huffed as she stepped closer to her, peeking over her shoulder.

"I tried to look for it in the voodoo stores but the Thunderbird is a magical beast, so the chances are rare that we find it in those stores."

"So, what are we doing then?"

"The lunar phase has started and the potion is simmering. We will _Apparate_ our way to Arizona, get the feather and then go from there to New Mexico."

"Arizona?" Draco asked and then sighed.

Hermione grinned. "Arizona!"

* * *

"That bloody bird!" Draco cursed as Hermione giggled quietly next to him.

"I told you to not make any sudden movements!" She scolded and Draco grumbled something in return.

"But we have the feather!" Hermione held up the golden feather proudly and Draco huffed annoyed as they walked back to their current motel.

* * *

"I'm going to record something on the B-Side now, do you want to say something as well?"

"To who? Potter?" Draco scoffed.

Hermione frowned as she prepared the tape in the recorder. The potion was simmering in the bathtub and she and Draco had decided to finish up the tape and then put the charm on it as they left for New Mexico tonight.

"Yes, maybe it would be better if you say something as well, you know as evidence that we are saying the truth."

Draco waved her off. "Fine!"

"And do you have your letter?" Hermione asked as she prepared everything on the bed she was currently sitting on.

Draco nodded and held up a crumpled letter. Hermione had forced him to write something for his parents, so that they could put the bequest charm on it as well.

 _Just in case_ , she had told him.

"Okay," she breathed out. "Here we go!"

She smiled at Draco tightly before she pressed _Record_.

"Harry, welcome to the B-Side."


	4. Off the Record

**4\. Chapter:**

 **Off the Record**

* * *

"We killed her!" Hermione panted, blood in her face as she turned around to Draco.

"We really killed her! Draco!" She laughed as she saw the dead body of the snake on the floor and she wanted to laugh out loud but when she didn't get an answer from Draco, the laugh was stuck in her throat.

"Draco?" She asked slowly and then started to turn around furiously.

"I'm here, I'm fine!" She heard him as he stumbled out of the dark smiling. "But we should leave as fast as possible."

Hermione nodded and she limped over, her leg hurt where Nagini had bitten her and when she reached Draco and grasped his jumper, she couldn't help but smile. Draco gathered her close, the smell of blood was heavy in the air and it made them both choke.

She looked up at him and he looked down, both of them were breathing hard.

"Two things down, one more to go!" He smiled and then suddenly leant down to press his lips against Hermione's.

The kiss was short and furious and Hermione enjoyed every second of it. But it was over too soon and she felt how Draco tightened his grip on her.

"Hold on!"

Hermione nodded and then he _Apparated_ them away.

They only stopped to clean and heal themselves before they continued again. They crossed the border to Mexico that night, knowing that after Nagini's death, they would be hunted even more.

They didn't stop until they passed Mexico City and settled in a small hotel.

"You alright?" Draco asked as Hermione started to undress. The heat was unbearable.

Draco cast a cooling charm on the room and both of them visibly relaxed. They were tired, sweaty and still sorta bloody and they craved nothing more than the shower.

Hermione looked over sheepishly as she stood there in her tank top only.

Draco blinked confusedly. "What?"

Hermione then reached for the hem of her top and pulled it over her head as well. "Come on!" She said to Draco as she walked closer, his eyes moving from her chest to her face.

"Let's shower," she demanded and grabbed his hand to pull him towards the bathroom.

He didn't complain.

* * *

"Draco," Hermione's breath grew laboured as he started to kiss down her next, his hand beneath her shirt as he had pressed her against the door of their room.

They had travelled to Guatemala in the meantime and would continue to Honduras soon. They hadn't encountered any Death Eaters or Followers anymore but they still were careful and laid low to make sure that they wouldn't be caught.

"What?" Draco mumbled against her skin and then his hand slipped out from under her shirt. He took the hem and pulled it off of her with a hungry growl, which made Hermione giggle.

As soon as she was topless, he growled again and his head dipped down to lick across her breasts while Hermione's head fell back against the door and her hand went up to bury itself in Draco's hair.

* * *

It nearly took them three months until they found the secret dragon refuge in Brazil. But they did and they succeeded.


	5. Bonus Tracks

**5\. Chapter:**

 **Bonus Tracks**

* * *

Hermione looked around the Great Hall in awe.

She still couldn't believe that it looked as if nothing had happened in here. She had heard from Harry and Ron how much Hogwarts was destroyed but by the time, she had returned, everything had been cleaned up already.

It had taken a week for her to wake up in St. Mungo's, completely exhausted from the poison.

Harry and Ron had been there and she had been happy to see them, even though she had wished for someone else.

They caught up and Hermione confirmed what she had said on the tapes, as well as what happened to them. He skipped a few things but they had still spent days catching up. Harry and Ron had told her about the war and Hermione had told them about what happened overseas.

And before she knew it, the summer had been over and they all had been invited to re-do their Seventh Year at Hogwarts.

It was the second week of September and it felt weird to be here. It's not like she had been the only one missing, Harry and Ron hadn't returned either and many others as well. Even Draco had not been there for their original Seventh Year.

Draco.

Hermione's glance wandered over to the Slytherin table, instantly spotting him on the end. He was sitting alone, his house mates were rather suspicious of him and there was a gap between him and any other students.

She hadn't had a chance to talk to him since they returned. After waking up in the hospital, Harry had told her that the Malfoys had to sit trials and that they all had been escorted away. They were pardoned in the end but it still didn't help that Hermione wasn't able to see him.

She had hoped that it would change at Hogwarts but her friends had kept her busy and somehow Draco avoided her because she was never able to catch him alone.

A dark voice inside of her told her that they were over. That she needed to move on.

That whatever they had was left behind in America.

The owls came in and Hermione tried to concentrate on her breakfast and not Draco but then a beautiful Eagle owl landed in front of her, a small parcel on her leg.

"What's that?" Ron asked with his mouth full and Hermione shrugged, taking off the parcel as she let the owl eat some of her bacon.

"I don't know," she mumbled as she started to unwrap the brown paper.

She froze when he realised what she had in her hand.

It was a cassette tape.

 _Mixtape for Hermione_ was written on both sides of the tape and Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her had snapped up and she stared at the Slytherin table as she saw that Draco held his head down, staring concentrated on his eggs.

"Excuse me," Hermione scrambled up, his friends looking at her confused as she hurried away from their table.

She knew that looks followed her as she walked over to the table on the far right of the Great Hall. She walked down the row until she reached him.

"You sent me this," she stated and Draco lifted his head to blink at her. She smiled gently.

"You made me a mixtape," she repeated, holding up the tape. "I can't believe it."

"Well, actually," Draco started, putting down his fork to turn towards her. He leant closer.

"It's empty."

"What?" Hermione frowned confused.

Draco looked sheepishly at her. "You never told me _how_ to make one, so I had no idea how to put music on there. So it's actually just an empty tape but I hoped the the gesture counts."

She knew that everyone was now staring at them. The story about their little adventure hadn't made it to the press yet and Hermione preferred if it would stay this way but she knew that it was inevitable. It was published already that Draco had fought for their side in the end and that he wouldn't be punished but because the whole story had been revealed yet, many were still cautious when it came to him.

"Of course it does!" Hermione said as she let herself fall on the bench next to him. "I can't believe you even remember."

"Silly girl! Of course, I remember," he rolled his eyes.

"Everything", he then added with a serious voice and his grey eyes fell on hers. "Especially the things we talked about in the tent in Brazil."

"We talked about a lot of things in the tent," Hermione said. "We also did a lot of other things in there."

Draise raised his eyebrows as Hermione blushed.

"Thank you, Draco," she then said with a gentle voice. She leant over and then kissed him bravely on the lips. He was surprised but then he sighed and they parted from the sweet kiss.

She knew that everything was well then. She looked at him with loving eyes.

"Thank you for the _mixtape_."


End file.
